hispanic leaders confer at the state capitol.hispanic leaders confer at the new mexico state...

A TEACHER SHORTAGE RESTRICTING SUFFRAGE INTERNET VOTING

Hispanic leaders

confer at the

New Mexico

state Capitol.

n Provides access to contact information for thousands of state officials and staff in one convenient resource.

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For additional information, please call or e-mail Deanna Wright • (606) 244-8120 • [email protected]

n Provides access to contact information for thousands of state officials and staff in one convenient resource.

n Updated daily, this online directory enables you to print reports and mailing labels, merge into letters and export data with confidence and ease.

n To access a demo version, visit our homepage at www.csg.org and click on the Online Directory button.

n A one-year subscription cost of $650 gives you up-to-date, unlimited access to one of the most powerful resource tools in state government.

For additional information, please call or e-mail Deanna Wright • (606) 244-8120 • [email protected]

The Council of State Governments • 2760 Research Park Dr. P.O. Box 11910 • Lexington, KY 40578-1910

CSG's Online Directory. . .

4 state government news march 2000

featuresfeatures

leadership

Growing into power 10Hispanics are flexing their muscles on the political stage.

by John J. Mountjoy

elections

Suffering for lack of suffrage 15Convicted felons lose their right to vote in many states.

by Chester Hicks

international

Do-gooder global trade 18CSG’s State Environmental Initiative gives trade a good name.

by Karen Marshall

international

States, the WTO and Seattle 19While Seattle was a bust, states have to stay in the fray.

by Jeff O’Malley

education

Desperately seeking teachers 22States are pulling out all the stops to attract teachers.

by Ed Janairo

employment

Wanted: A skilled work force 26Many good-paying jobs do not require four years of college.

by Elaine Stuart

media

Covering the statehouse 28Reporters look at why statehouse news is on the wane.

by Wes Akers

elections

Breaking voting barriers 30Will we vote with the click of a mouse in the future?

by Tim Anderson

march 2000 volume 43, number 3

on the coverLeaders of the National Hispanic

Caucus of State Legislatorsgathered at the New Mexico stateCapitol in February. Shown (from

left) are New York Sen. EfrainGonzalez Jr., New York

Assemblyman Felix W. Ortiz, NewMexico Speaker Raymond G.

Sanchez, Connecticut Rep. John S.Martinez, California Sen. Richard

Polanco, Florida Rep. Luis E.Rojas and New Mexico Sen. Pres.

Pro Tem Manny M. Aragon.Photo credit: Dorie Hagler, Santa Fe

managing editorElaine Stuart

associate editorMichael J. Scott

graphic design coordinatorSkip Olson

production systems administratorConnie P. LaVake

contributorsHeather Bakondy

Kristin CormierCindy J. LackeyKaren Marshall

Malissa McAlisterJohn MountjoyFred J. Vickers

Sarah WhitmireLaura Williams

advertisingKristi Ratliff

(606) 244-8118

reprint permissionsAmy Lindon

(606) 244-8246

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A Publication of The Council of State GovernmentsA Publication of The Council of State Governments

G O V E R N M E N T N E W S

page 10

page 18

page 22

the council of state governments 5

departmentsdepartments

6 stated briefly■ death penalty■ Illinois halts executions pending a review.■ superman sees progress■ Kentucky legislators receive the Man of Steel’s thanks.■ internet access■ The political battle begins over high-speed cable access.■ campaign finance■ The nation’s highest court upholds Missouri law.

33 policy pageStates fight over rights to organs.

by Trudi Matthews

34 excellence in actionCSG activities and events, and those of affiliates and other associations

37 conference calendarMeetings and conference activities of CSG, affiliates and other associations

38 trendsStates need to prepare for e-commerce.

by Keon S. Chi

Executive CommitteechairDeputy Minority Leader Rep. Tom Ryder, Ill.

presidentGov. Paul Patton, Ky.

chair-electSenate President Pro Tempore Manny M. Aragon, N.M.

president-electGov. Dirk Kempthorne, Idaho

vice chairSen. John Chichester, Va.

vice presidentGov. Parris Glendening, Md.

executive committeeSen. Pres. Brady Adams, Ore. • Rep. David Adkins, Kan. •Assemblywoman Elaine White Alquist, Calif. • Rep. RamonaBarnes, Alaska • Rep. Gail Beam, N.M. • Sen. Pres. LaneBeattie, Utah • Sen. John O. Bennett, N.J. • Treas. MarshallBennett, Miss. • Carl Bianchi, Director, Legislative Services,Idaho • Rep. Dan Blue, N.C. • Rep. Dan Bosley, Mass. • MattBrown, Manager, Division of Telecommunications, W.Va. •Michele Brown, Commissioner, Dept. of EnvironmentConservation, Alaska • Sen. David Cain, Texas • Rep.Deborah Capano, Del. • Rep. Charlie Capps, Miss. • Gov. MelCarnahan, Mo. • Rep. Robert Clayton, Mo. • Rep. JohnConnors, Iowa • Sen. Jim Costa, Calif. • Rep. Paul Crowley,R.I. • Sen. Bob Cupp, Ohio • Rep. Bob Damron, Ky. • SpeakerJo Ann Davidson, Ohio • Sen. Bill Doyle, Vt. • Sen. HughFarley, N.Y. • Speaker Tim Ford, Miss. • Rep. Sally Fox, Vt. •John Gillig, Counsel to the Speaker, Ky. • Sen. MaryellenGoodwin, R.I. • Ellen Gordon, Administrator, EmergencyManagement Division, Iowa • Sen. Toni Nathaniel Harp, Conn.• Treas. David Heineman, Neb. • Sen. Douglas Henry, Tenn. •Lt. Gov. Steve Henry, Ky. • Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, Nev.• Treas. Jim Hill, Ore. • Rep. Kip Holden, La. • Sen. JohnHottinger, Minn. • Gov. Mike Huckabee, Ark. • Gov. Jan DeeHull, Ariz.• Judge Bob Hunter, N.C. • Sen. Tim Jennings,N.M. • Sec. of State Bill Jones, Calif. • Lilia Judson, ExecutiveDirector, Division of State Court Administration, Ind. • Gov.Angus King Jr., Maine • Speaker Douglas Kristensen, Neb. • Sen.Sue Landske, Ind. • Gov. Michael Leavitt, Utah • Rep. VictorLescovitz, Pa. • Rep. Paul Mannweiler, Ind. • Sen. Vice Pres.Pro Tem John J. Marchi, NY. • Sen. Kenneth McClintock, P.R.• Rep. Ed McKechnie, Kan. • Stan McKinney, Director, Div. ofEmergency Preparedness, S.C. • Chief Justice Robert A.Miller, S.D. • Sen. Roger Moe, Minn. • William Montgomery,Director, Division of Research, Legislative Council, Del. • Sec. ofState Ralph Munro, Wash. • Speaker Thomas B. Murphy, Ga.• Sen. David Nething, N.D. • Rep. Marcus Oshiro, Hawaii •Gov. George Pataki, N.Y. • Speaker Chuck Perricone, Mich. •Sen. Pres. Ray Powers, Colo. • Virgil Puskarich, ExecutiveDirector, Local Government Commission, Penn. • Jack Quintana,Program Director, Facilities Management, Utah • Speaker JodyRichards, Ky. • Sen. Pres. Charles Rodriguez, P.R. • Gov.Pedro Rosselló, P.R. • Paula K. Roy, Executive Director,Health Care Commission, Del. • Gov. George H. Ryan, Ill. •Sen. John Sandy, Idaho • Rep. Ray Short, Utah • SteveStephens Jr., Deputy Commissioner, Merit System, Ga. • CarlaStovall, Attorney General, Kan. • Rep. Jessie Stratton, Conn. •Gov. Tommy G. Thompson, Wis. • Sen. Pres. Earl RayTomblin, W.Va. • Sen. Donne Trotter, Ill. • Ray Wahl, JuvenileCourt Administrator, Utah • Lt. Gov. Olene Walker, Utah •Jeff Wells, Counsel, Dept. of Labor and Employment, Colo. •Sen. Jeff Wentworth, Texas • Assemblyman Robert C. Wertz, N.Y.

STATE GOVERNMENT NEWS, ISSN 0039-0119, March 2000,Vol. 43, No. 3 — Published 10 times annually by The Council of StateGovernments, 2760 Research Park Drive, Lexington, KY 40511-8410.Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect thepolicies of The Council of State Governments nor the views of theeditorial staff. Readers’ comments are welcome. Subscription rates —In the U.S., $39 per year. Other addresses, $45 per year, surface mail.Single issues are available at $6 per copy. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to State Government News, Diane Kincaid, P.O. Box 11910,Lexington, KY 40578-1910.

Advertising — Black and white, two-color and full-color advertisingavailable. For complete circulation and advertising information, contactthe advertising department at (606) 244-8118. Mailing lists are availablefor rent upon approval of a sample mailing.

Copyright 2000 by The Council of State Governments. Periodicals postagepaid at Lexington, Ky., and at additional mailing offices.

council offices

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headquarters2760 Research Park Drive

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washingtonJim Brown, General Counsel & Director

Hall of the States444 N. Capitol St., N.W., Suite 401

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Illinois Gov. George Ryan

Actor Christopher Reeve thanked Kentuckylegislators.

entucky legislatorsgave a standing ovationFeb. 3 to actor ChristopherReeve, who played Super-man before he was para-lyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident. Reevepraised the state’s nation-ally recognized Spinal Cordand Health Injury ResearchTrust. Reeve met withlegislators,Gov. PaulPatton andmedicalresearch-ers.

“Ken-tucky istruly aninspirationto otherstates andI’mthankful,”Reeve said.Kentucky’sprogram ispaid for by a $12.50surcharge on traffic ticketsand seat-belt violationfines. The 1994 GeneralAssembly established thetrust fund, which providesabout $2.5 million annuallyfor spinal cord and head

Illinois suspendsdeath penalty

llinois Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium onexecutions of death-row inmates Jan. 31. Ryan referred to13 condemned inmates who were wrongly convicted since

Illinois reinstated capital punishmentin 1977. The state has executed 12

other death-row inmates in thattime.

The governor also cited articlesin the Chicago Tribune thatexposed bias, error and incompe-tence in a number of death-penalty

convictions and cases. Ryansaid, “I cannot support asystem, which, in its adminis-tration, has proven to be sofraught with error and hascome so close to the ultimatenightmare, the state’s taking ofinnocent life.”

Ryan said he would appointa commission to review the administration of the deathpenalty. He said he still supports the death penalty.

Other states also are looking at the issue. Maryland Gov.Parris Glendening has set aside funds to pay for a study ofimposition of the death penalty and racial fairness.

Superman says thanksinjury research at two stateuniversities. Grants awardedso far total about $7 million.

Sen. Tim Shaughnessysponsored the legislationthat created the trust. NewJersey and New York sincehave adopted similarprograms.

Kentucky lawmakerson Jan. 25 welcomed

Muhammad Ali, giving theboxing legend six standingovations. The governor’sbudget calls for offering $10million in state funds to helpbuild a museum for Ali inhis hometown of Louisville.

KKII

TT he U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 24 upheld a Missouri lawlimiting campaign contributions by individuals. By 6-3, thecourt ruled the state’s $1,075 limit was constitutional. Thecourt said the state did not violate free-speech rights bylimiting contributions. Most states impose campaigncontribution limits.

Many see the ruling as a boost to efforts to impose morecontrols on campaign spending.

A lid on campaign spending

tah Gov. Michael O.Leavitt said Jan. 27 hewants to become the

second three-term gover-nor in Utah’s history.Leavitt won 75 percent of

Governor seeks third termUU the vote in his race for a

second term in 1996. Pollsshow he has an extremely

high publicapproval rating.

Leavitt, 49,said he wants towelcome the2002 WinterOlympics to SaltLake City asgovernor. Leavittfaced no opposi-tion for the GOPnominating

convention in the spring orfrom Democrats.


Visit CSG on StatesNewswww.csg.org

TT

MM

he Indiana House Feb. 7 adopted a measure allowingthe posting of the Ten Commandments in schools, courtsand other public facilities. The Commandments would bepart of a larger display of historical documents. A similarmeasure has passed the Senate and the governor hasindicated he would sign the legislation. At least nine otherstates seemed likely to vote on similar bills in February.The U.S. Supreme Court in 1980 rejected a Kentucky lawrequiring schools to post the Commandments because thepurpose was “plainly religious in nature.” Advocates sayposting the Commandments with the Declaration ofIndependence or other documents avoids the religiousaspect. Kentucky is considering several posting bills as arethe legislatures of Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippiand Oklahoma, according to press reports.

aryland Gov. Parris N.Glendening’s proposal torestrict gun sales in thestate to personalized“smart” guns has raised theire of a gun manufacturerin the state. Beretta USA,which manufacturesmilitary and policepistols inMaryland,disputes thatsmart guns are technologi-cally or economicallyfeasible.

“It’s something thatdoesn’t exist in the markettoday,” company ownerUgo Gussalli Beretta said ina press interview.

Glendening told the press

Smart guns in crosshairshe wants gun manufactur-ers to make sure theirweapons are “safe forcivilian use.” The governorhas proposed offering $3million in research monies

to Maryland companies forsmart-gun research.

The factory is in thedistrict of Senate PresidentThomas V. Mike Miller Jr.and House JudiciaryCommittee ChairmanJoseph F. Vallario Jr.

ermonters by the thousands have attended publichearings on how to treat same-sex couples. The state’shighest court ruled Dec. 20 that the state unconstitution-ally denied same-sex couples the legal benefits, rights andresponsibilities of civil marriage. The court left it to theLegislature to come up with a remedy.

The 11-member House Judiciary Committee is seekingto craft a solution before the session ends in April. Rep.Thomas A. Little, who heads the committee, told TheWashington Post that Vermont wants to show “that anissue of this magnitude can be handled in a civil, informa-tive and reflective fashion … .”

Gov. Howard Dean said the issue “should be decided byVermonters.”

The governor supports domestic partnership, rather thangay marriage. The state offers domestic-partnership benefits toits employees and bans discrimination against gays.

Vermont debatessame-sex marriage

Posting the Commandments

VVills introduced in the

Maryland and Virginialegislative sessions couldlead to heavy lobbying,according to a news reportin The Washington Post.

In Maryland, Del.Cheryl C. Kagan andSen. Arthur Dormanare sponsoring bills torequire cable systemsto provide access to allInternet providersunless local govern-ments grant a mo-nopoly franchise.Kagan said the billwould give consumersmore choices andlower prices. Majorcable companies andAT&T, which isbuying up cable franchisesacross the nation, areexpected to oppose openaccess.

House Majority LeaderJohn A. Hurson told thenewspaper: “This is thenew health care in terms of

Internet access touchy topicBB high-powered lobbyists

being hired by all theplayers in the debate.”

In Virginia, House andSenate committees beganhearings on open accessbills Feb. 7. Virginia Del.

William P. Robinson,sponsor of the House bill,said it would allow competi-tion in the marketplace.

Cable companies contendphone companies have amonopoly on Internetaccess now.

Visit CSG on StatesNewswww.csg.org


Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

SS

SS

KKansas legislators in February sent to the governor abill to cancel the state’s April 4 presidential primary. TheLegislature already had refused to appropriate money forthe primary, which would have required counties to payfor the vote. Critics said the $1.5 million required could bebetter spent as the state faces budget problems. Democratsand Republicans in the state will have their own activitiesto pick delegates to nominating conventions. The Legisla-ture directed the secretary of state to pursue a regionalprimary or caucus in the future. Secretary of State RonThornburgh already is a leading advocate of a regionalprimary system on a rotating basis.

BB

ome 2,000 students protested at thestate Capitol in Tallahassee Feb. 8 overGov. Jeb Bush’s Florida One plan.After meeting with students, Bushagreed to develop a system monitoringminority admissions to state universi-ties. The students wanted improve-ments to Bush’s Nov. 9 executiveorder affecting minority admissionsto universities and minoritycontracts.

Earlier, two lawmakers hadstaged a 25-hour sit-in protesting Bush’s alternative toaffirmative action.

alifornia voters March 7will pick and choose amongsome 20 ballot measures.Among initiatives placedon the ballot by petition isone to ban recognition ofsame-sex marriages in thestate. Another would tightencampaign-contributionrules, including settinglimits on individualdonations and banningcorporate contributions. Ajuvenile-crime initiative

lack motorists receivetraffic tickets twice as oftenas white motorists who arepulled over by police,according to a statewidepoll.

The poll conducted forthe Michigan State Policeand released Feb. 7 foundblack motorists are pulledover about as often aswhites. The 1,025-person randomtelephone polloversampledblack andyoung maledrivers. It didnot differenti-ate betweenstate and localtraffic stops.

Pollster Ed Sarpolus toldthe Free Press that blackresidents, about 10 percentof the state’s population,are receiving about 20percent of traffic tickets.

Michigan tickets blacksmore often than whites

Florida plan drawsprotests

State Police Maj. TimYungfer said a communica-tion problem betweenofficers and blacks may leadto the higher rate ofticketing.

Meanwhile, in RhodeIsland a bill to require astudy of racial profilingduring traffic stops gained

the support of Attor-ney General

Sheldon White-house Feb. 6.Whitehouseearlier hadopposed thestudy. Racialtensions rose

over the Jan. 28death of a black

officer, who was killedby two white Providencepolicemen. The blackofficer responded in plainclothes to aid the twoofficers who were respond-ing to a report of a fight.

Crowded California ballotwould require morejuvenile offenders to betried in adult court andincrease penalities for gang-related crimes.

Among measures placedon the ballot by the Legisla-ture are five proposals forbond funds for clean water,libraries, crime labs andveterans’ homes. A proposi-tion deals with legalizingslot machines on triballands.

aying he too suffered fromchildhood abuse, Iowa Gov.Tom Vilsack promised to improvethe state’s child protectionsystem Feb. 1. The governorjoined 350 people in SpiritLake for a meeting on the deathof a toddler who died fromalleged abuse Jan. 4. Thechild’s mother and boyfriendhave been charged with murder. Some at the meetingaccused the state of focusing too much on preservingfamilies and not enough on protecting abused children.Some complained they had reported suspected abuse of thedead child to state workers.

Vilsack said his mother, who was an alcoholic, oftenbeat him.

Governor vows toprotect kids

CC

Kansas kills primary


Gov. Roy Barnes

TT

GGHH orrified at reports of abandoned newborns, legisla-tors in states across the country are proposing changingabandonment laws. Bills introduced in California, Colo-rado, Kentucky and Minnesota this year would protectparents who leave their unwanted infants in designatedsafe places. Texas last year passed a law protectingmothers from prosecution if they take their babies toemergency medical providers within 30 days of birth. The1999 law, HB 3423, also provides for termination ofparental rights.

California Sen. Jim Bruite introduced a bill after visitinga cemetery east of Los Angeles where a nonprofit agencyhas buried 38 abandoned infants in three years. Rep.Joseph Haydon of Kentucky acted after an abandonedbaby was found in a garbage bin in January. A group ofMinnesota legislators is working with child advocates on asimilar measure. Meanwhile, a Minnesota county istesting a program on its own to persuade parents ofunwanted newborns to leave them at hospitals.

ov. Jesse Ventura’sproposal to eliminate onehouse of the MinnesotaLegislature moved a fewsteps forward in February.House Speaker SteveSviggum, a Republican,and Senate President AllanSpear, a Democrat, spon-sored bills for a Novembervote on an amendment tothe state Constitution toswitch to a unicameralsystem. The amendmentwould replace the Houseand Senate with a singlebody called the Senate. It

Minnesota considersunicameral legislature

An option to babyabandonment

would replace 201 legisla-tors with 135 senators withfour-year terms. The firstunicameral session wouldbe in 2003.

Sviggum, a supporter of aunicameral Legislature, saidFeb. 7 that the measurewould not hurt ruralinterests as opponentscontend. Senate MajorityLeader Roger Moe, aDemocrat, opposes placingthe measure on the ballot.

Nebraska is the onlystate with a one-houselegislature now.

exas Sen. Jeff Wentworth won a James MadisonAward from the Freedom of Information Foundation.Wentworth sponsored in the Senate a House bill thatopened previously secret staff briefings to the public. Healso authored a bill revising public information laws toincrease the public’s right to know.

Wentworth said, “As a strong advocate of open govern-ment, I am pleased that after repeated attempts, wemanaged to pass legislation that makes it easier for Texansto access public information and keep government businessfrom being conducted behind closed doors in secret.”

No secrets in TexasMiss America to wedKentucky official

French, 25, was the firstMiss Kentucky to win thenational title. Henry, 46, isan orthopedic surgeon.Henry said they first metthree years ago when Frenchwas Miss Jeffersontown,but did not begin datinguntil last August.

KK entucky Lt. Gov. SteveHenry and reigning MissAmerica Heather ReneeFrench announced inFebruary that they plan tomarry. The marriage willtake place Oct. 27 inLouisville, after Frenchpasses on her crown.

Kentucky Lt. Gov.Steve Henry andreigning MissAmerica HeatherRenee French.

GGeorgia Gov. RoyBarnes told a teach-ers’ group that newteachers should nothave tenure.

“You can takethe few failingteachers out of theschools and makethe other changesthat are necessaryto make ourschools competitive, or youcan let children leave the

Ending tenure?schools that are failingthem,” Barnes said,as reported in TheAtlanta Journal-

Constitution.Barnes warned

teachers againstappearing toblock educationchanges. Thegovernor’s 151-page education

bill was before the Legisla-ture in February.


The nation’s fastest

growing minority group

is starting to flex its

muscles on the political

scene.

BY JOHN J. MOUNTJOY

look at top state officials in California and New

Mexico is the best evidence that the face of gov-

ernment is changing in key states to reflect population

trends.

In California, five elected officials of Hispanic ori-

gin hold top legislative leadership and executive posts,

while Hispanics occupy two top legislative leadership

posts and six state executive offices in New Mexico.

If California and New Mexico are among the most

prominent examples of the rise of elected Hispanic/

Latino officials, they are not alone._______________

John Mountjoy is Western regional coordinator,The Council of State Governments.

Growinginto

POWER

leadershipleadership

Shown is California Assembly SpeakerAntonio R. Villaraigosa


Currently, there are almost 200 His-panic state legislators and statewideofficials (not counting Puerto Rico), ac-cording to the National Association ofLatino Elected and Appointed Officials.

In the 1970s, Hispanics began to winelection to public offices outside theirhome communities. This phenomenoncontinued through the 1980s and inthe early 1990s, as Hispanic politicalcaucuses and independent politicalgroups began to show their strength.

“Hispanics are in the midst of a risein population and power,” says Con-necticut Rep. John Martinez. “As a

result, you’re finding a larger represen-tation of Hispanics in government,both at the state and federal levels.”

“It’s important that Hispanics notonly be elected to public office,” says

Hispanic legislators per stateNumber of Number ofHispanic state Percent of total

State legislators legislators legislative body

Arizona 11 90 12.22%California 24 120 20.00%Colorado 9 100 9.00%

Connecticut 6 187 3.21%Delaware 1 62 1.61%Florida 14 160 8.75%

Hawaii 1 76 1.32%Illinois 6 177 3.39%Indiana 1 150 0.67%

Kansas 2 165 1.21%Louisiana 1 144 0.69%Massachusetts 3 200 1.50%

Michigan 2 148 1.35%Minnesota 1 201 0.50%Nevada 1 63 1.59%

New Jersey 4 120 3.33%New Mexico 41 112 36.61%New York 12 211 5.69%

Oregon 1 90 1.11%Pennsylvania 1 253 0.40%Rhode Island 1 150 0.67%

Tennessee 1 132 0.76%Texas 35 181 19.34%Utah 2 104 1.92%

Washington 3 147 2.04%Wisconsin 1 132 0.76%Wyoming 1 90 1.11%

This survey excludes Hispanic legislators of Puerto Rico.

Source: NALEO Directory, 1999; NCHSL Directory, 1999; CSG Book of the States, 1998-1999

New Mexico Speaker of the HouseRaymond Sanchez, “but also that theyachieve positions of influence and au-thority, such as commissions, boards,national panels and cabinet positionsthat allow them to both influencepolicy direction and decisions and toadvise other decision-makers on howto carry those policies out.”

Like blacks before them, the His-panic minority is coming into its own,realizing the political power that it

wields. This trend,while strong insome states, con-tinues to be slowin growth, par-ticularly in non-Hispanic areassuch as the Mid-west and South.

“Hispanics havenot done enoughin the past [to par-ticipate in govern-

ment], but we are now moving downthat road,” Martinez says.

Growing in numbers

Despite their strong representationin a handful of states, Hispanics holdless than 5 percent of total state legis-lative seats. Overall, that is far less thanthe 10 percent of the population thatHispanics comprise.

The influx of Hispanic immigrantsto the United States has culminated ina population of more than 30 million.In the last 10 years alone, the Hispanicpopulation has grown 29 percent. His-panics represent 10 percent or moreof the total population in New Mexico,California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada,

New MexicoSpeaker RaymondSanchez

“Hispanics have not done enough in the past[to participate in government], but we arenow moving down that road.”

~ New Mexico Speaker Raymond Sanchez


Florida, Colorado, New York, New Jer-sey and Illinois.

Each year from now to 2050, theCensus Bureau predicts that the His-panic population will add more peopleto the United States than any othergroup. By 2005, the Census Bureauprojects Hispanics may become thenation’s largest minority group.

Into politics

As Hispanics in the United Statescontinue to grow in numbers, the ex-pectation is that their roles in govern-ment and politics will increase as well.

State Hispanic populations as a ratio of totalstate population

Hispanic State PopulationState population population ratio Rank*New Mexico 700,289 1,737,000 40.3160% 1California 10,112,986 32,667,000 30.9578% 2Texas 5,862,835 19,760,000 29.6702% 3Arizona 1,033,822 4,669,000 22.1423% 4Nevada 278,499 1,747,000 15.9416% 5Florida 2,243,441 14,916,000 15.0405% 6Colorado 577,516 3,971,000 14.5433% 7New York 2,624,930 18,175,000 14.4425% 8New Jersey 1,004,010 8,115,000 12.3723% 9Illinois 1,224,309 12,045,000 10.1645% 10Connecticut 268,339 3,274,000 8.1961% 11Hawaii 96,156 1,193,000 8.0600% 12Virginia 520,799 6,791,000 7.6690% 13Idaho 88,284 1,229,000 7.1834% 14Utah 142,479 2,100,000 6.7847% 15Rhode Island 65,347 988,000 6.6141% 16Washington 355,039 5,689,000 6.2408% 17Massachusetts 377,016 6,147,000 6.1333% 18Oregon 199,432 3,282,000 6.0765% 19Wyoming 28,870 481,000 6.0021% 20Kansas 139,724 2,629,000 5.3147% 21Nebraska 72,519 1,663,000 4.3607% 22Oklahoma 130,168 3,347,000 3.8891% 23Alaska 23,719 614,000 3.8630% 24Maryland 188,278 5,135,000 3.6666% 25Delaware 25,736 744,000 3.4591% 26Georgia 220,312 7,642,000 2.8829% 27Michigan 263,761 9,817,000 2.6868% 28Louisiana 116,522 4,369,000 2.6670% 29Wisconsin 133,970 5,224,000 2.5645% 30Indiana 145,181 5,899,000 2.4611% 31North Carolina 161,200 7,546,000 2.1362% 32Iowa 56,937 2,862,000 1.9894% 33Arkansas 49,473 2,538,000 1.9493% 34Minnesota 86,937 4,725,000 1.8399% 35Montana 15,695 880,000 1.7835% 36Missouri 86,893 5,439,000 1.5976% 37Ohio 179,054 11,209,000 1.5974% 38New Hampshire 17,924 1,185,000 1.5126% 39South Carolina 49,817 3,836,000 1.2987% 40South Dakota 8,665 738,000 1.1741% 41Tennessee 62,223 5,431,000 1.1457% 42Pennsylvania 134,519 12,001,000 1.1209% 43North Dakota 6,999 638,000 1.0970% 44Alabama 42,562 4,352,000 0.9780% 45Vermont 5,070 591,000 0.8579% 46Mississippi 22,755 2,752,000 0.8269% 47Kentucky 32,508 3,936,000 0.8259% 48Maine 8,929 1,244,000 0.7178% 49West Virginia 10,296 1,811,000 0.5685% 50This survey excludes the Hispanic population of Puerto Rico.* As a percentage of population Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1998

“We need toempower the His-panic population, sothat we cannot onlyaddress their needs,but so that they canone day do it them-selves, by becominginvolved.”

~California Sen. Richard Polanco

The growing trend in Hispanic politi-cal participation marches along thesame path that other minority groupshave experienced this century in mov-ing toward statehouses. Hispanics,however, seem to be making the leapfaster thanks in large part to the sacri-fices of other minority groups and civilrights advances in the last 40 years.

David Canton, a professor of politi-cal science at the University of Wis-consin, suggests in a recent study that“as long as a race of people are excludedfrom public office, they will be viewedas second-class citizens.”


While Hispanics are moving intostatehouses in California, New Mexicoand New York, in other states, Hispan-ics are still plagued by political prob-lems experienced by minorities. Theseinclude unwillingness to run for office,fund-raising difficulties, a lack of me-dia exposure and problems dealingwith the existing power structure. Asindicated by the roster of the NationalHispanic Caucus of State Legislators,23 of the 50 states have no Hispaniclegislators.

California Senate Majority LeaderRichard Polanco views these so-calledproblems as opportunities. He says,“We need to empower the Hispanicpopulation, so that we cannot only ad-dress their needs, but so that they canone day do it themselves, by becominginvolved.”

As chair of the National Caucus ofHispanic State Legislators, Polancoknows firsthand the efforts being un-dertaken by his colleagues around the

Hispanic elected officials instate government

Statewide StateYear officials legislators Total

1984 5 105 1101985 5 114 119

1986 5 117 1221987 4 123 127

1988 4 120 1241989 5 128 133

1990 5 129 1341991 5 135 140

1992 8 131 1391993 7 156 163

1994 7 163 1701995 6 163 169

1996 6 161 1671997 6 169 175

1998 6 174 1801999 9 186 195

This survey excludes the Hispanic officialsof Puerto Rico.

Source: National Association of Latino Elected andAppointed Officials, January 1999

census has aided Hispanics in gainingmore representation in governmentthrough redistricting. But we also mustnot ignore the Voting Rights Act andthe (1986) Immigration Reform and

Control Act froma few years agothat provided am-nesty to millionsof undocumentedimmigrants. It’sevents like thesethat have and areaiding in Hispan-ic political powergrowth.”

What’s ahead?

Hispanic power in state governmenthas made leaps and bounds in a rela-tively short time, but as the Hispanicpopulation continues to grow, can itscivic participation continue propor-tionately? Will Hispanics continue toenjoy success in the United States asgenerations begin to take root? Howwill Hispanic migration to the UnitedStates unfold in traditionally non-

nation. He says,“We can’t allowthese efforts orissues in generalto become woundup in politicswhen they don’tneed to. They’retoo important.”

Rosalind Gold,senior director ofNaturalizationPrograms withthe National As-sociation of La-tino Elected andAppointed Offi-cials (www.naleo.org), says twocritical factorshave attributedto the rise of His-panic power instate government:redistricting and

term limits. “What we haveseen in the past is that as aresult of reapportionmentand the advent of term lim-its, Hispanics have beengiven wide-open access tostate government offices.”

In addition, with such arise in Hispanic populationsover the last 10 years, particu-larly in the listed 10 states,the 2000 census and its re-sultant reapportionment islikely to be a watershed eventfor Hispanics in politics.

“Hispanics should becomeinvolved in the census pro-cess, to ensure not only thatwe are properly counted, butto ensure that Hispanics overthe next 10 years are repre-sented proportionately in thelocal, state and federal gov-ernments,” Martinez of Con-necticut says.

Polanco of California agrees,and goes a step further. “Wehave seen a huge voter impactamong Hispanics and the

California Sen.Richard G. Polanco

California Assembly Speaker Antonio R. Villaraigosa (center)welcomed (from left) Connecticut House Deputy Majority LeaderJohn Martinez and New York Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr., presidentof the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.


Hispanic leaders in state governmentName Title/Position State

Richard Alarcón Senate Majority Whip CaliforniaCruz Bustamante Lieutenant Governor CaliforniaRod Pacheo Assembly Minority Leader CaliforniaRichard Polanco Senate Majority Leader CaliforniaAntonio Villaraigosa Speaker of the Assembly California

Ken Salazar Attorney General Colorado

John Martinez House Deputy Majority Leader Connecticut

Wilfredo Carabello Assembly Associate Minority New JerseyLeader

Raul Garcia Assembly Associate Minority New JerseyLeader

Manny Aragon Senate President Pro Tempore New MexicoJerome Block Public Regulation Commissioner New MexicoPatricia Madrid Attorney General New MexicoDomingo Martinez State Auditor New MexicoMichael Montoya Treasurer New MexicoRaymond Sanchez Speaker of the House New MexicoJack Valencia Public Regulation Commissioner New MexicoRebecca Vigil-Giron Secretary of State New Mexico

Tony Garza Railroad Commissioner Texas

This survey excludes the Hispanic officials of Puerto Rico.Source: NCHSL Directory, NALEO Directory, CSG Elected Officials Directory, 1999

Hispanic areas and what are the im-pacts in these states?

Martinez says, “What we have to dois begin to piece together a nationalagenda for our Hispanic constituents.What Hispanics want and need in theNortheastern states is much differentfrom what they want and need in theWest or South. We need to develop anagenda along common themes that willbenefit both our Hispanic and non-Hispanic constituents alike.”

Polanco agrees. “We need an agendathat benefits everyone. Hispanics arenot in this alone. Whether it is healthcare, the digital divide, education orjobs, we can’t isolate ourselves. Wehave to embrace one another, embraceour diversity.”

One telling sign of expanding His-panic political power is the represen-tation by Hispanics of traditionally

A growing Hispanicpopulation

The Hispanic community is adiverse body that often cannot bedefined in traditional terms. Ac-cording to the U.S. Census Bu-reau, 35 percent of all Hispanicsand 40 percent of all Hispanicadults are foreign-born. Thenation’s Hispanic population isyoung, with about half less than26.5 years old as compared tonon-Hispanic whites with a me-dian age of 37.3 years.

Of the nation’s Hispanics aged25 and over, more than half (53percent) had at least a high-school diploma and 9 percent hadearned at least a bachelor’s de-gree. The proportion of high-school graduates is up 7 percentsince 1983. One quarter (25 per-cent) of Hispanics aged 18 to 21were attending college in Octo-ber 1995.

Hispanic household income($22,860) was not statisticallydifferent from that of blackhouseholds ($22,393). The me-dian income of non-Hispanicwhite households was $37,178.Employed Hispanic men, aged 16and over, most commonly workas operators, fabricators or labor-ers, or in precision production,craft and repair jobs. Their fe-male counterparts most fre-quently work in technical, salesor administrative support occu-pations or in service jobs.

As of March 1995, accordingto the U.S. Census Bureau, 54percent of Hispanic men and 57percent of women aged 15 andover were married. Marriedcouples made up 68 percent ofHispanic families. Hispanic fami-lies typically consist of 3.95people compared with an averageof 3.2 people in all families.

non-Hispanic districts. “When thathappens,” Gold says, “Hispanics willknow they have made it.”

As Hispanics grow in population,their representation within govern-ment will continue to grow as well.“The future for Hispanics is bright,”Polanco says. “We need to ensure thatthat future contains the opportunitiesfor Hispanics to play a full part in thisdemocracy.”

Hispanic leaders in state govern-ment across the country are makingit their mission to ensure the futuregrowth of Hispanic power in stategovernment by developing trainingprograms and community outreach.Martinez says, “Now is the key time,in the development of the Hispanicpeople in this country, to make a dif-ference.”


onvicted felons routinely lose their right to vote while serv-ing time in most states. Even when prison doors open, often ex-felons are shut out of the voting booth.

Though this has been the case for many years in most states, it hasattracted more attention recently. One reason is that more of the vot-ing-age population who run afoul of the law are placed in prison forlonger periods of time as a result of get-tough-on-crime laws. Followingyears of inactivity, state and federal policy-makers and courts are tak-ing a new look at the issue of allowing convicted felons and ex-felons tovote.

Today, 46 states and the District of Columbia prohibit inmates fromvoting while serving a felony sentence, according to The SentencingProject, a nonprofit organization that promotes sentencing reform. More-over, 32 states prohibit felons from voting while they are on parole and29 of these states exclude felony probationers.

In addition, 10 states disenfranchise all former felons who have com-pleted their criminal sentence. Four others disenfranchise some formerfelons. However, in four states, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshireand Vermont, inmates are allowed to vote by absentee ballot.

The Sentencing Project in a 1998 report found that 3.9 millionAmericans, or one in 50 adults, have lost their voting rights as a resultof a felony conviction. Of these, 1.4 million are ex-offenders who havecompleted their sentences, and 1.5 million were on probation or parole.

Convicted felons lose more

than their freedom in most

states. Some caution that

voting disenfranchisement

in the United States has

serious implications for

democratic processes and

racial inclusion.

BY CHESTER HICKS

_______________Chester Hicks is the Southern regional coordinator forThe Council of State Governments.

Sufferingfor lack ofsuffrage

electionselections


Restoring rights difficult

In theory, ex-offenders can regainthe right to vote. In practice, however,this possibility is illusory. In Virginia,for example, about 200,000 felons havelost the right to vote, but only 150 havetheir rights restored each year. Eightstates, including Virginia, require apardon or order from the governor, andin two states ex-felons must obtainaction by the parole or pardons board.

“While about 23,000 people in Vir-ginia were convicted of felonies in1997, only 112 had their voting rightsrestored,” says Mary Spain, staff attor-ney for the Virginia Division of Legis-lative Services. Since 1986, an averageof 134 ex-offenders per year have hadtheir voting rights restored.

“The process is too complicated,”says Virginia Sen. Yvonne B. Miller.The process is so complicated, it takesa governor and staff at least a year toget a handle on the system, Spain says.

Miller is among the supporters of SB254, introduced by Sen. Henry MarshIII, before the Virginia 2000 session toease the process of restoring votingrights to former felons. The bill wouldallow those who have completed theirsentence, probation or parole to file adischarge instrument with the clerk ofthe court that imposed the sentence.Ex-felons still could apply to the gov-ernor for restoration of their civilrights.

Virginia is not alone in consideringthis issue. The Sentencing Project re-ported in January that in the last sev-eral years, legislators in Alabama,Florida, Pennsylvania and Nevada haveintroduced bills to automatically restorevoting rights of ex-felons, and in Con-necticut, for felons on probation orparole.

A 1998 Delaware bill called for re-storing voting rights for certain ex-fel-ons five years after release. Delaware’sHB 219 was passed by the House andmust be passed by the Senate in 2000to take effect. Nevada does not meetin 2000.

Connecticut Rep. Kenneth Green

introduced HB 5033 last session andplanned to reintroduce it this year forthe session scheduled to convene Feb.9. Green says voting rights should berestored. “First, it would help rehabili-tate ex-offenders so they can becomefull participants in society,” Greensays.

Moreover, it would increase partici-pation in elections and remove prob-lems with enforcing the current banon voting for those on probation orparole. Green says he has a problemwith using loss of voting privileges asa punishment for breaking the law.

This year, bills to automatically re-store voting rights were prefiled inAlabama by Rep. Yvonne Kennedy andin Florida by Sen. James Hargrett.

Disenfranchising blacks?

By automatically restoring votingprivileges, such bills would provide away for most ex-felons to easily voteagain, without going through thegovernor’s office, for example. Coupledwith the complexity of restoring vot-ing privileges in states such as Virginia,is the reality that those affected “arethe least educated people in society,”Miller says. A great number of theseaffected people also happen to be black.

Marc Mauer, assistant director ofThe Sentencing Project, testified Oct. 21before Congress on this issue. Mauersaid, “As a result of the high propor-tion of minorities in the criminal jus-tice system, felony voting restrictionshave had a very disproportionate racialimpact.”

According to The Sentencing Pro-ject’s report, an estimated 1.4 millionblack men, or 13 percent of black men,are disenfranchised, a rate seven timesthe national average. In seven statesthat deny the vote to ex-offenders, onein four black men is permanentlydisenfranchised.

Given current rates of incarceration,the report further estimates that threein 10 of the next generation of blackmen are likely to be disenfranchisedsome or all of their lives. In states that

disenfranchise ex-offenders, as manyas 40 percent of the black men maypermanently lose their right to vote.

It is this racial disparity that has re-cently prompted a lawsuit in Philadel-phia by six former and current inmates.The suit attempts to challenge a provi-sion in Pennsylvania’s 1995 “motorvoter” law that prevents felons fromregistering to vote for five years afterthey leave prison.

“Generally, the attitude of the Leg-islature, at the time, was that if you’rea felon in Pennsylvania, you’re goingto be penalized for committing thatcrime,” says Troy Beverson, of the Leg-islative Affairs office of the state’s at-torney general’s office.

The Philadelphia chapter of theNAACP filed an amicus (friend of thecourt) brief in support of the suit con-tending that the five-year ban has adiscriminatory impact on blacks who,according to the group’s statistics,make up 70 percent of Pennsylvania’sprison population.

While national rates of imprison-ment for blacks are higher than forother racial groups, substantial varia-tion exists among the states in the de-gree of racial incarceration disparity.In addition, the increasing rate of in-carceration of black males is creatinga variety of unintended consequences.Election voting statistics offer an ap-proximation of the political importanceof black disenfranchisement:

• 1.4 million black men are disen-franchised compared to 4.6 millionblack men who voted in 1996.

• In Alabama and Florida, 31 per-cent of all black men are permanentlydisenfranchised.

• In Delaware, one in five black menis permanently disenfranchised.

• In four states — Minnesota, NewJersey, Rhode Island and Wisconsin —16 percent to 18 percent of black mencurrently are disenfranchised.

Green of Connecticut says that hisbill to automatically restore votingrights to probationers and parolees willbenefit more whites than minorities,because more whites are disenfran-


chised. However, he says the voting banimpacts blacks and Hispanics dispro-portionately.

Loss of prisoner rights

After almost a century in which theprevailing view was that prisoners’rights were nonexistent, judicial atti-tudes in the late 1960s began to change.While accepting the principle that pris-oners’ rights and civil liberties weresomewhat reduced through incarcera-tion, the courts for 10 years examinedprison conditions and set limits on thegovernment’s curtailment of rights.

However, since the late 1970s, theSupreme Court has halted the doctri-nal expansion of prisoners’ rights law.A series of decisions by the SupremeCourt stopped the trend toward protect-ing prisoners’ rights and cut back onprotections that lower federal courtshad ordered in a number areas. Thedecisions in Rhodes vs. Chapman andRichardson vs. Ramirez, where an indi-vidual was permanently unable to votein California due to a 20-year-old robberyconviction, signaled that the federaljudiciary should practice a hands-offpolicy unless state courts, legislaturesand executive officials took action.

However, in New Hampshire in-mates’ voting rights were restored aftera state constitutional challenge.

Getting tougher

While some state legislators areattempting to restore voting rights to ex-offenders, others have passed more re-strictions in recent years. Utah votersin November 1998 approved a consti-tutional amendment to eliminate thevoting rights of convicted felons. Vot-ing rights are restored automatically tothose released or who are on probationor parole.

Utah Rep. Carl Saunders said whenhe ran for office he promised constitu-ents in his district he would introducethe measure as a response to crime.Saunders says, “Those who haveshown disregard for the laws should

Voter turnout percentages for blacks in selectedstates — 1998 Elections

% Black share of %Voter turnoutactual vote all voters

State *BVAP 1994 1998 Change 1994 1998

Georgia 26.5 19 29 +10 30 31.3Maryland 26.7 13 21 +8 37.6 38.9Michigan 13.2 13 19 +6 44.2 41.3Illinois 13.9 12 17 +5 35.7 38.2Ohio 10.8 6 10 +4 41.3 39.8Missouri 10.1 5 8 +3 45.3 39South Carolina 27.8 22 25 +3 34.1 36.6Tennessee 15 9 11 +2 38 23.6Texas 11.8 10 10 0 41.7 34.4Louisiana 29.6 n/a 32 n/a 26.7 30.8North Carolina 20.5 n/a 20 n/a 29.6 34.7Alabama 23.9 n/a 19 n/a 38.3 39.4Arkansas 14.3 n/a 9 n/a 38.3 39.4New York 16.8 10 9 -1 38.1 32.8Florida 13.4 13 10 -3 38.8 34.7Pennsylvania 8.8 9 6 -3 38.9 33.1California 7.1 10 6 -4 37.3 31.3New Jersey 13.6 10 n/a n/a 34.4 30Virginia 19 15 n/a n/a 41.4 17.6

*Black voting age population as percentage of voting age population

Source: The ’98 Vote by David A. Bostis, National Coalition on Black Voter Participation

have no part in electing those who makethe law.”

Saunders says only a small percent-age of inmates voted in most electionsprior to the amendment, but that some-times elections are decided by narrowmargins. The issue of adversely affect-ing one racial or ethnic group nevercame up in the discussion in Utah, hesays.

W. Andrew McCullough argued inthe Utah voter pamphlet against pas-sage of the voting ban. He wrote thatinmates who vote “are less likely to con-tinue criminal activity.”

Massachusetts soon may no longerbe one of the four states along withMaine, New Hampshire and Vermontthat allows offenders to vote. Accord-ing to the Legislative Service Bureau, a

bill to amend the state Constitution wasintroduced in 1997. The amendmenthas gone through two legislative ses-sions, as required in Massachusetts, andwill go to the Constitutional Conven-tion this May. If the amendment isagreed upon, it will go on the ballot.

Inmate disenfranchisement may con-tinue to be re-examined in the monthsto come. Recently, in Pennsylvania, abill has been introduced to re-examinethe five-year ban for ex-offenders’ vot-ing privileges.

Rep. Paul Clymer, chair of the StateGovernment Committee, is in favor ofthe proposal. “If you are going to reha-bilitate an individual and allow him tore-enter society, why not allow that in-dividual to have his voting privileges aswell.”


internationalinternational

Do-gooderglobaltrade

ettling into my seat on theflight departing Seattle andthe mayhem in the streets

protesting the World Trade Orga-nization meetings, I breathed asigh of relief. The Council of StateGovernments’ participation in aWTO-accredited session at thePort of Seattle had avoided thedowntown demonstrators. Ourspeakers and audience had slip-ped through the blockades andonly evening receptions fellvictim to tear gas, street crowdsand a city curfew.

“Were you at the WTO?” que-ried my seatmate. Carting ascruffy backpack loaded withbooks, she was a retired school

Away from the tear gas in

Seattle’s streets, CSG’s State

Environmental Initiative

answers WTO issues of big

trade and big government.

BY KAREN MARSHALL

_______________Karen Marshall is State Environmental Initiative

program manager, CSG’s Center for Leadership,Innovation and Policy.

PHOTO: PATRICK KYLEN - © THE SEATTLE SPECTATOR

continued on page 20

teacher from the Boston area,who had demonstrated againstthe Vietnam and Gulf wars and,most recently, the WTO. Whenshe discovered that I was one ofthe “suits” on the other side ofthe picket line in Seattle, she ex-pressed her frustration withwhat’s wrong with big business,big trade and big government.The demonstrators, she said,were protesting the lack of rep-resentation by citizens in globaltrade issues.

She turned a critical eye uponme and asked, “So, what wereyou doing at the WTO?”

Okay, I thought, here is my


States,the WTO & Seattle

internationalinternational

hose bewildered by the De-cember protests in Seattlemight wonder what the

meeting was all about. The nego-tiations in Seattle — the thirdWorld Trade Organization min-isterial meeting — were convenedprimarily to set the agenda for anew round of international tradetalks. The WTO was to addressagricultural markets and subsi-dies, labor and environmentalstandards and transparency ingovernment procurement.

When the smoke cleared fromthe Seattle meeting — literallyand figuratively — most agreedthat not much progress was made.Efforts to launch a new round of

While not much came out

of the Seattle meeting, state

involvement in trade

remains essential. States

need to keep a close eye on

agreements affecting

agriculture, services and

government procurement.

BY JEFF O’MALLEY

_______________Jeff O’Malley is director of international programs,The Council of State Governments.continued on page 21

negotiations were suspended astalks bogged down over fundamen-tal disputes. Developing nationsargued that being held to the samelabor and environmental stan-dards as wealthier nations is unfairand represents a form of protection-ism by developed countries. TheEuropean Union, the UnitedStates and Japan continued to dis-agree over agricultural subsidies.

Washington Secretary of StateRalph Munro said there were fac-tors working against a successfulmeeting: “The Seattle meeting fellfar short of expectations. We inWashington state worked veryhard to be good hosts, but I am


chance to tell how theCSG State Environmen-tal Initiative differs fromthe general concept at-tached to the WTO. Ilaunched into a recap ofour session at the WTOMinisterial Meeting inSeattle and how theUnited States Agencyfor International Dev-elopment and CSG aretaking an unusual ap-proach to foreign trade,exchanges and policyaffairs.

CSG in Seattle

The Seattle sessionpresented USAID’s workwith state and local gov-ernments through theU.S.-Asia Environmen-tal Partnership Program. The partner-ship promotes trade in environmen-tally friendly technologies to Asia andadvances sustainable international de-velopment via e-com-merce trade linkages.The panel reviewed suc-cess stories and assis-tance available to com-panies exporting envi-ronmental goods andservices.

States and localitiesare increasingly engag-ing in international re-lations because it is intheir own interest. Asexamples, Peter Kimm,executive director forUS-AEP, said that stateoverseas offices in Asiahave increased from 54 in 1984 to 162in 1994. During the same period, thenumber of state employees devoted tointernational trade and export activi-ties has more than doubled.

Kimm said states also are establish-ing sister city and state programs topromote cultural and commercial ex-

change relationships. A prime exampleis the CSG-sponsored exchange be-tween Lake Champlain representedby the Vermont Agency of Natural Re-

sources and LakeToba in Indone-sia.

Business andother participantsare essential tothe effort. Kimmattributed muchof the program’ssuccess to the par-ticipation not onlyof federal agencies,but of state and lo-cal organizations,nongovernmen-tal organizations,academia and the

private sector.State and local government officials

attending the Seattle session learnedthere is harmony between trade andthe environment. William Ruckelshaus,former administrator for the U.S. En-vironmental Protection Agency, com-mended USAID for demonstrating

how the environment and trade agen-das can be mutually supporting.

Benefits of trade

Seattle, despite the turmoil in thestreets, is an example of how Ameri-can cities benefit from the partnership.More than 120 Seattle-area companiesare cooperating with US-AEP to gen-erate business to improve the environ-ment in Asia.

International trade is vital to states,Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, CSG’spresident-elect, told the session.Kempthorne emphasized that 70 per-cent of America’s economic growth isattributable to export activity and al-most one-third of new job creation islinked to the international economy.Export related jobs have more thantripled since the early 1980s.

Research confirms that companiesthat export tend to have higher pro-ductivity, grow faster and pay higherwages than the average U.S. company.In Idaho, exports increased by 29 per-cent between 1987 and 1996.

continued from page 18

continued on page 32

Students protest the WTO in Seattle. Photos courtesy of The Spectator

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, (left),and Louisiana Rep. Melvin “Kip”Holden support international trade.


afraid we were doomed before theopening gavel fell. The facts were thatthe WTO arrived without an agendaand there was extensive misinformationabout the WTO’s role in the tradeworld. These and several other factorsall combined to bring down themeetings.”

What is the WTO?

Because misinformation exists, anexplanation may be useful. The WorldTrade Organization is an internationalorganization established by membercountries to manage the rules of inter-national trade. The WTO’s purpose isto facilitate the free flow of trade world-wide in a rule-based system by admin-istering trade agreements, serving as aforum for negotiations and settling dis-putes. The 135-member organization’soperating principles are 1) openingmarkets; 2) eliminating protectionism;3) maintaining environmental, healthand safety standards; and 4) promot-ing democratic values.

The WTO is the successor to theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs andTrade or GATT system, which hadbeen the basis for the market-openingtrade policy of the United States sincethe end of World War II.

Having a common set of rules helpsthe United States achieve fair marketaccess for products and services and

helps hold trading partners account-able for their actions. The WTO is amember-driven organization. Agree-ments are reached by consensus amongthe member governments and are rati-fied by all members’ legislatures. TheWTO cannot dictate the laws of na-tional or subnational governments.

Seattle and the states

The question remains: What doesthe outcome of the Seattle meetingmean for states?

If the United States accomplishes itsoverall goals within the WTO, statesare likely to benefit. But for states, theresults of the Seattle ministerial meetingitself mean little. The Seattle meetingdid prove, however, to be a valuablenetworking opportunity for U.S. stateleaders attending.

Numerous governors, legislatorsand cabinet officials arranged meetingswith foreign delegations to promote theinternational trade interests of theirrespective states. South Dakota FarmBureau spokesman Mike Held said:“This meeting has determined the pa-rameters of discussions that will takeplace over the next two to five years,and we are going to keep agricultureat the top of the agenda.”

Three key areas for states to keepan eye on in future negotiations areagriculture, services and governmentprocurement.

Louisiana Rep. Melvin “Kip” Holden (right) talks in Seattle with Richard Sheppard,deputy executive director, US-AEP, Asia/Near East Bureau.

• The United States is seeking tolower barriers on agricultural prod-ucts and reduce subsidies by foreigngovernments.

• In services, the fastest growingsector of the U.S. economy, theUnited States champions transpar-ency to reduce unwanted restrictionsimposed on U.S. companies.

• In government procurement,U.S. goals are transparency, proce-dural fairness and public accountabil-ity — all of which will help open upprocurement markets overseas toU.S. suppliers and products on a re-ciprocal and nondiscriminatory basis.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Rep-resentative continues to explore waysfor states and localities to be more in-volved in the process. ChristinaSevilla, USTR director for Intergov-ernmental Affairs, said the USTRplaces a great deal of importance onengaging state officials on trade issuesof interest through associations such asCSG and other venues.


CSG resourcesThe Council of State Govern-

ments believes that interactionwith the international communityin the increasingly interdependentworld is essential for states. Aspolicy initiatives at the local, re-gional and subnational level gainin importance in every corner ofthe globe, state leaders can gainpractical ideas and build productiverelationships through positive con-nections with counterparts over-seas. The Council has extensiveexperience in promoting the ex-change of ideas and initiativesamong states, regions and othernations, and is uniquely qualifiedto interpret changing national andinternational conditions to preparestates for the future. CSG activitiesin the global arena are coordinatedthrough the International Commit-tee, which seeks to capitalize ontrade, educational and exchangeopportunities. Visit www. csg.organd link to the page on CSG’sWashington, D.C., office.


igning bonuses, forgivable collegeand home loans, higher pay andbetter working conditions are

all ways states are trying to attractand keep more teachers in publicschools.

Across the country, schools face adangerous shortage of qualifiedteachers in the coming years. TheU.S. Department of Education pre-dicts a nationwide need for at least 2million new teachers in this decade.

U.S. Education Secretary RichardRiley said, “It’s gotten so bad thatsome schools have been forced to putany warm body in front of a class-room.”

Further, estimates suggest that250,000 of the nation’s teachers lackproper basic training. And the staff-ing situation is likely to worsen.

Many teachers of the baby-boomgeneration are preparing to retire in thecoming years. Also, class enrollmentsare increasing throughout the country.Added to this is a healthy economy thataffords to young graduates many morejob opportunities that offer salariesmuch greater than a teacher’s.

Though the shortage will be feltthroughout the country, the shortageof teachers is most acute in particulardisciplines and in certain geographicareas. Special education, math, scienceand bilingual teachers are especiallyscarce. Also, urban schools and remote

rural districts suffer greater shortagesthan suburban and more affluent dis-tricts. Fortunately, states have takenrecent steps in response to this crisisand have offered lucrative incentivesto recruit and retain new teachers.

Incentives to entice newteachers

In what may have seemed to be atranscontinental bidding war for newteachers, two governors on differentsides of the country proposed recruit-ment incentive plans within hours ofeach other. In his January State of theState address, Gov. George Pataki an-nounced a plan to attract 50,000 newteachers to New York’s neediest schools.State university students who committo teach in New York classrooms withthe most need would receive free col-lege tuition. Students attending private

_______________Ed Janairo is a contributing staff writer for

State Government News, The Council ofState Governments, Lexington.

States are pulling out

all the stops in a race

against time to attract

and retain classroom

teachers in public

schools.

BY ED JANAIRO

educationeducation

Desperatelyseeking teachers

States need more teachers for public schools.


schools who make the same commit-ment would receive about $3,400 ayear. Further, Pataki wants to allowalternative qualifications for adultswhose life experiences would makethem valuable teachers and to providea way for retired teachers to return toteaching without losing their retire-ment benefits.

A few hours later, Gov. Gray Davis,in his State of the State speech, an-nounced a similar plan to bring moreteachers to California’s low-perform-ing schools. Students who agree toteach in a school that ranks in the bot-tom 50 percent will be eligible for$11,000 in forgivable college loans. Inaddition, the governor proposed homeloans of up to $10,000 for credentialedteachers, which would be forgiven af-ter five years of teaching service. Thebest new teachers would be eligible for$20,000 fellowships and $30,000

home loans. Davis also wants to allowretired teachers to keep their pensionand return to the classroom.

Davis said, “There is no highercalling, no greater public service, nocontribution more valued than to jointhe front lines of the future, in theclassroom.”

Other states that recently have im-plemented scholarships or student loanforgiveness programs to attract stu-dents to teach in shortage areas or inneedy school districts include Arizona,Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky,Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Min-nesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

At least 27 states have scholarshipor loan-forgiveness programs for pro-spective teachers, according to QualityCounts 2000, issued by Education Weekin January. Only 10, however, are aim-ed at luring teachers to specific areasor low-performing schools.

Bonuses, housing aid

Some states have pursued other cre-ative programs to attract teachers.

Massachusetts in 1999 became thefirst state offering $20,000 signingbonuses to teachers willing to work inthe state for four years. The bonus isaimed at recruiting those who can teachmath, science and foreign languages.Last year, 800 candidates applied and59 received the bonus. Another 800applied by the Feb. 2 deadline for the125 bonuses available for 2000.

Massachusetts also offers college-loan forgiveness worth up to $7,200for top students who teach in districtswith the greatest needs.

Maryland Gov. Parris Glendeninghas proposed low-interest mortgages toteachers who buy homes in the schoolsdistricts where they teach. Maryland,which will likely have to recruit 11,000teachers just this year, also has ap-proved a $25 million package of sign-ing bonuses and mentoring programsfor new teachers.

Mississippi’s Legislature in 1998passed an imaginative law that encour-ages teachers to relocate and teach in

needy school districts. In addition toraising pay and providing scholarships,Mississippi offered relocation aid andlow-interest housing loans to teacherswho go to low-income districts. Thestate paid out $75,208 in housing sub-sidies as of June 1999. The MississippiLegislature in February passed a mea-sure (SB 2459) to expand funding forthe program for fiscal 2000-2001. Onegoal of such measures is also to encour-age the teacher to be a more integralpart of the community.

Alternative routes to teaching

Other measures that states are tryinginclude experimenting with alternative-licensure programs, particularly in spe-cial education, accelerating the pace forparaprofessionals and teachers outsideof special education to enter the disci-pline. Special education has tradition-ally had more red tape than otherteaching areas.

At least 40 states have alternativeroutes to teaching for career switch-ers, but most attract relatively few newteachers, according to Quality Counts2000.

Among Southern states, Texas hasthe most successful alternative licen-sure program, according to the South-ern Regional Education Board. A 1999law resulted in attracting more minori-ties and men to teaching.

Salary increases to stay

Bold as these measures might be inrecruiting new teachers, a harder taskmay be keeping them in the profession.Some estimates are that nearly one-third of new teachers quit within thefirst five years. So more may be neededthan these initial bonuses and perks.Many claim that higher salaries areneeded to entice teachers to stay in theclassroom.

According to the American Federa-tion of Teachers, the average newteacher’s salary is $25,735, whereasthe average beginning salary for a busi-ness administration major is $34,831,


Nebraska legislators are wary of usingstate money for teacher salaries. Sen.Pam Redfield, citing such practices inother states, said in the Omaha World-Herald that this practice “has led toflatter salary scales, with lower pay formore experienced teachers, larger classsizes and state control of the numberof teachers . . . for each school.”

In Louisiana, lawmakers also arestruggling over the issue of teacher payraises. The Public Affairs ResearchCouncil of Louisiana, a prominent non-profit policy research organization, hasrecently suggested an income-tax in-crease may be needed to fund the pos-sible $250 million cost of raisingteacher pay to the Southern states’ sal-ary average. This proposal comes as aresponse to Gov. Mike Foster’s December1999 request for ideas on how to fundteacher raises. Lawmakers, however,tend to shy away from tax increases;and a spokesman for the governor toldthe Baton Rouge AdvocateOnline thatan income-tax increase is unlikely.

Also, states such as Nevada are find-ing ways to make teacher pensionsmore portable. In many cases, if ateacher moves to another district, onlyfive years of service in the former dis-trict will carry over to the new retire-ment plan. A Nevada bill ensures thata relocated teacher maintains full ser-vice credit.

North Carolina and South Carolinaallow retired teachers to return to theclassroom without losing retirementfunds, according to the Southern Re-gional Education Board.

Ways to retain teachers

As important as salaries are, thesuccessful retention of teachers also de-pends on the school environment.Sandra Feldman, president of theAmerican Federation of Teachers, saidin an Associated Press article thatschools must enforce stricter disciplinepolicies, reduce class size and improvethe physical condition of schools.“Teaching is enormously gratifying,and many more would make it their

$40,920 for a computer scientist and$42,682 for an engineer. The nationalaverage teacher salary is $39,347. Incontrast, the average salaries for otherwhite-collar professions include$45,919 for accountants, $63,072 forcomputer systems analysts, $64,489for engineers and $71,530 for attor-neys. Many teachers with the skillsleave the profession for higher salaries.

The National Education Associa-tion reported in December that teachersalaries grew at an inflation-adjustedrate of just 1 percent last year, the firstreal growth since 1991.

North Carolina is among the statesaddressing this salary disparity. In the

aged teachers to remain in the profes-sion with perhaps the nation’s largestacross-the-board pay raise for teachers.A $3,000 raise was approved by thestate Legislature last year.

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack in Januarycalled for a study of teacher compen-sation. He said, “We continue to losemany of our brightest and our bestteachers to other states that offer in-centives or higher pay, or to other pro-fessions that do likewise.”

Salary increases, however, are muchmore costly than recruitment incen-tives such as loan forgiveness and sign-ing bonuses.

The Nebraska state teachers’ union

Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening urges incentives to recruit teachers.

last two years, North Carolina hasjumped from being ranked 43rd forteacher salaries to 29th. This is due inlarge part to Gov. Jim Hunt’s ExcellentSchools Act, which is a four-year planto bring North Carolina’s teacher sala-ries to the national average. In an inter-view, Hunt expressed his commitmentto retaining teachers by increasingtheir salaries. He said that “we have topay enough in order to get and keepthe best,” and “we ought to pay moremoney to teachers who really provethey are especially good.”

Texas, where the teacher shortageis especially acute, has similarly encour-

recently proposed a plan to raise teach-ers’ pay to the national average. Cur-rently Nebraska’s average teacher salaryis $32,668, 42nd in the nation. Butsuch a plan could cost Nebraska $420million over the next three years, andnot surprisingly many legislators arehesitant about a proposal that mightrequire a drastic tax increase. Of 44state senators responding to a pre-session Associated Press survey, onlytwo favored increasing teacher salarieswith state money, and only 10 opposedsuch an idea. The rest were more orless ambivalent. Although recognizingthe threat of teacher shortages, many


ResourcesQuality Counts 2000, the fourth

annual 50-state report by Educa-tion Week, is on Education Week’sWeb site: www.edweek.org.

The Southern Regional Educa-tion Board’s Web site is www.sreb.org.

career choice if they feel theywere treated like profession-als,” she said.

A study by Education Weekfound nearly half of 1992-93graduates who prepared toteach never worked in a pub-lic school and of those whotaught, one in five left the fieldwithin three years. VirginiaEdwards, editor of the report,said, “The best and brightestare the most likely to leave.”

In response, some states areinstituting mentoring pro-grams for new teachers. Suchprograms help new teacherslearn the difficult art of teach-ing with the tutelage of a vet-eran. Such guidance for thenew teacher will help stave offgreater teacher frustrationand burnout.

North Carolina has extended itsmentoring program to encompass anew teacher’s first two years. New Jer-sey Gov. Christine Whitman in Janu-ary proposed extending her state’smentoring program from one year totwo and providing more money andguidelines for mentoring. Minnesota’sDepartment of Children, Families andLearning also recommends a two-yearmentoring program for new teachers.Maryland created a mentoring andtraining program last year.

Massachusetts established a $60million state endowment to fund in-centive programs for outstandingteachers in August 1998. Massachu-setts now offers a $5,000 annual bonusto veteran teachers who qualify as mas-ter teachers and mentor beginningteachers. The Department of Educa-tion has a goal of training 1,000 newmentors this summer.

In recognizing the first 19 masterteachers awarded the bonus last year,Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Jane Swift said,“Our efforts to encourage talented in-dividuals to the teaching profession,help them grow professionally andkeep the best and brightest in ourschools make all the difference in our

children’s education.”Not only must schools attract an

estimated 2 million new teachers, theymust also strive to attract the brighteststudents to teaching. Gary Galluzzo,dean of the graduate school of educa-tion at George Mason University saidin an Education Week article thatschools need to recruit teachers whoare smart, competent, and who caredeeply about the education of theyoung. And such recruits, said Gal-luzzo, are attracted by higher stan-dards. “The brightest among us havealways sought autonomy and the op-portunity to create and advance in theworkplace.”

In addition to the financial incen-tives to attract a greater number ofteachers, more “intangible” changesare required to attract brighter candi-dates and to ensure that our childrenhave the best possible teachers.

Better school environment

What sort of environment wouldattract the best and brightest teachers?James Nehring, who stepped down asprincipal to return to teaching at theFrancis W. Parker Charter EssentialSchool in Devens, Mass., said in an-

other Education Week articlethat schools like his do attracthighly qualified teachers. Atthe Parker School, Nehringteaches only 62 students, andassesses the work of 26. Hisday consists of only threetwo-hour periods, two ofthese periods for teachingand an unscheduled thirdperiod left open for planning,student meetings, parent con-tact and interaction withother faculty. Also, the stu-dent-teacher ratio is lowerthan at any other nearbyschool. Here, “kids — andtheir teachers — thrive,”Nehring said.

But how does this schoolachieve such an environ-ment? At Parker, much is

sacrificed. There are no guidance coun-selors; there are few electives, few text-books, and there is old furniture andscant lab equipment.

Nonetheless, such a desirable envi-ronment would not only attract more,but better teachers. And the teachershortage crisis is not just a problem ofquantity, but also of quality. As Rileyhas said, just any warm body in frontof the class is not acceptable. Not onlymight bonuses, loan forgiveness andsalary increases lure more people to theprofession, but also a better schoolenvironment will attract the more tal-ented candidates. “We are not makingprogress on changing the image ournation holds of working in a school andunless we do,” Galuzzo cautions, “wemay get the number of teachers weneed, but not the quality we ought toensure.”

North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt promotes higher teacher pay.


for high-tech job skills and a lack ofskilled workers are combining to createa tight labor market for the foreseeablefuture. That is the view of RichardJudy, co-director, Center for WorkforceDevelopment, Hudson Institute.

“We aren’t taking work-force devel-opment seriously enough,” Judy says.He commends Wisconsin for address-ing the issue.

The U.S. unemployment rate of 4.1percent is the lowest in 30 years. Judysays the U.S. population is aging rap-idly, as baby boomers move toward re-tirement. Canada finds itself in a simi-lar situation. Meanwhile, there arerelatively few young adults ages 25 to34 to take the place of retiring babyboomers. Because of population trends,many of the new entrants into the U.S.work force will be Hispanics, whichbodes ill for states with low Hispanicpopulations.

Judy says these demographic trendsare occurring at the same time thattechnology and globalization are boost-ing the demand for skilled workers. Sixof the top 10 fastest growing occupa-tions for 1988 to 2008 are in the com-puter field.

Although workers need better high-tech skills, U.S. students score belowmany other countries on internationalmathematics and science assessments,according to The National EducationGoals Report, Building a Nation ofLearners 1999. Moreover, only 36 per-cent of high school seniors in 1994 metperformance standards set by the GoalsPanel. Only 16 percent of seniors in1996 met the panel’s mathematicsachievement performance standard.

Judy says, “Here’s a scary statistic:60 percent of new jobs in the early 21stcentury will require skills possessedtoday by only 20 percent of today’swork force.”

Lots of jobs await

those who have the

skills and many do

not require a college

degree.

BY ELAINE STUART

ecord low unemployment hasa downside.“We have 110,000 jobs in the

want ads and only 60,000 people to fillthem. We can’t get companies to cometo Wisconsin if we can’t fill their de-mands for workers,” says WisconsinGov. Tommy Thompson.

Wisconsin faces an extremely tightlabor market despite having put thou-sands of people who once were on wel-fare in jobs and having a high gradua-tion rate for high schoolers. The statehas tackled the issue through severalnew programs. An innovative grantprogram encourages recent Wisconsinhigh-school graduates to attend statetechnical and occupational programsfor their postsecondary careers. Begin-ning in July 2000, a student is eligiblefor up to $1,000 in grants for two yearsof study at a Wisconsin Technical Col-lege System Board college.

The Wisconsin measure helps highschool students realize there are careeroptions that don’t require four yearsof college.

“Wisconsin made it possible for kidswithin three years of high schoolgraduation to go to technical college foran associate degree close to tuitionfree,” says Gene Kussart, special assis-tant to the governor, Wisconsin Officefor Building Tomorrow’s Workforce.

“They can go to the University of Wis-consin for $10,000 a year or to tech-nical college for free. The purse stringis one way of getting the attention ofparents and students,” Kussart says.

Other states are in the same boat.“Skilled workers are badly needed allover the country,” Thompson says.

No relief in sight

Low unemployment, an aging baby-boom work force, a growing demand

Wanted: A skilled work forceemploymentemployment


Nor is the United States alone.Canada also is addressing a shortageof skilled workers. Francois Legault,Québec minister of state for educationand youth, says, “Half the jobs requireskills taught in vocational and techni-cal programs, but only 30 percent ofstudents graduate with vocational ortechnical skills.”

A high-tech solution

Cisco Systems is tackling the short-age of high-tech workers by partneringwith states, universities and schools.John P. Morgridge, Cisco Systems chair-man, says 400,000 high-paying high-

says schools “bring the classrooms,computer labs, instructors and the will-ingness to support it.”

Morgridge says other subjects couldbe taught using the same method ofdelivering a codified curriculum overthe Internet and testing students fre-quently on their mastery of the con-tent. Students in the Cisco program aretested every week.

“There are tools to address the skillsshortage,” Morgridge says.

A labor source

Veterans are an often overlookedsource of highly skilled labor, says

ResourcesMuch of this article is based on

sessions on the work force pre-sented at the 1999 Annual Meet-ing and State Leadership Forumof The Council of State Govern-ments in December.

More on Veterans’ Employmentand Training Services is availableon the U.S. Department of Laborsite on the Web: www.dol.gov/dol/vets/public/credentials.

More on the Cisco NetworkingAcademy Program is available onthe Web: www.netsystech.com/warp/public/779/edu/academy.

More on the Wisconsin pro-gram is available on the Wiscon-sin Web site for the WisconsinTechnical College System Board:www.board.tec.wi.us/ or [email protected].

Richard Judy can be reachedat (317) 841-0133 or [email protected].

dentialing requirements typically arebased on traditional education, train-ing and experience. Thus state licens-ing and certification rules may makethe transition to the civilian work forcedifficult.

Ohio has had success in easing theway for veterans to obtain commercialdrivers’ licenses and obtaining federallicenses for aircraft mechanics. Mary-land is helping veterans with licensesand certification for health care fieldsand South Carolina with law enforce-ment certifications, Borrego says.

Options to college

While good jobs exist for those withvocational and technical skills, manyyoung people are not training for thosejobs. Some 40 percent of high-schoolgraduates enroll in four-year institu-tions, but only half of them manage tograduate. Too many parents and chil-dren see college as the only path to agood job, Kussart says. “Kids in schooldon’t realize what choices they have.There are few entrees on the tablewhen there should be thousands.”

Employment and total job openings, 1998-2008By education and training (numbers in thousands of jobs)

Number NumberEducation and training category in 1998 in 2008

First professional degree 140,514 160,795

Doctoral degree 1,908 2,215

Master’s degree 996 1,228

Work experience plus bachelor’s or higher 940 1,115

Bachelor’s degree 17,379 21,596

Associate degree 4,930 6,467

Postsecondary vocational training 4,508 5,151

Work experience in related occupation 11,174 12,490

Long-term on-the-job training 13,436 14,604

Moderate on-the-job training 20,521 21,952

Short-term on-the-job training 55,125 62,701Source: Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics

tech jobs are going begging. To createmore skilled workers, Cisco is givingequipment to schools and delivering acurriculum on the Internet to trainhigh school juniors and seniors in com-puter networking. Since the programbegan in 1997, it has expanded to 3,000schools in 50 states and 50 foreignnations. In two years, 50,000 studentsare taking the course.

Students who complete 280 hoursof program material and test out canbe certified as Cisco associates and earnup to $30,000 annually after graduat-ing high school. The four-semester pro-gram is on the principles and practiceof designing, building and maintain-ing computer networks. Morgridge

Espiridion “Al” Borrego, assistant sec-retary for Veterans’ Employment andTraining with the U.S. Department ofLabor. “One in 10 have good technicalskills. They also have people skills,good attitudes and show up on time,”Borrego says of those who are depart-ing military service.

Many veterans pick up skills in themilitary, but are not certified or licens-ed for civilian work. An InteragencyTask Force on Certification and Licens-ing of Transitioning Military Person-nel is working with states to set up pilotprojects to certify and license thoseleaving the service. Although membersof the military may have the skillsneeded to perform a job, civilian cre-


mediamedia

Covering the statehousenterest in state government newsstories seems to be about as thinas the air in Denver. That analogy

could have been made by concernedstatehouse reporters who attended aconference on news about state gov-ernment in Colorado’s mile-high city.

“Is state government a turnoff or isit the way we cover it?” asked TomRosenstiel, vice chairman ofa group called the Committeeof Concerned Journalists, toa crowd of more than 100print and electronic reportersworking for media outletsranging from USA Today toAlabama Public Television.Rosenstiel quoted formerBoston Celtics coach RedAuerbach, “When a pass ismissed it’s usually the faultof the passer,” indicating it may be theway state government news is coveredthat turns readers off.

The reporters’ conference titled“Power to the States” was sponsoredby the Pew Center for Civic Journal-ism. The goal was to help reporters findways to make stories about state gov-ernment more interesting.

The Pew Center for Civic Journal-ism is an organization based in Wash-ington, D.C., which Executive DirectorJan Schaffer says “seeks to developnew definitions of news so that storiesgive people the information they needto do their jobs as citizens in a self-governing society and build capacity incommunities for addressing problems.”

The results of a study by the PewCenter and Rosenstiel’s committeewere released in October 1999. The“State House Beat” study examined

the state government coverage of news-papers in Colorado, Florida, Indianaand Texas during the last 60 days ofeach state’s 1999 legislative session.The study found that about one and ahalf stories a day about state govern-ment could be found in newspapers inthose states. The Indianapolis Star,published in the Hoosier state’s capi-

tal city, published an averageof one story every other dayduring the session. PreviousPew Center studies foundthat most television stationsignore state government al-together and that a televisionnews executive once said ata forum that “state govern-ment stories are bad for rat-ings. I’m in a business.”

The message or messenger?

An excerpt from the study ques-tioned, “If people find news of stategovernment dull or irrelevant, is thatbecause of how government operates?Is it because citizens simply don’t care?Or does some fault lie in the nature ofthe press coverage?”

Rosenstiel seemed to side with thelatter as he quoted a summary fromthe study: “Newspapers cover a lim-ited amount of news about state gov-ernment, tend to focus on politicsrather than the policy, and tend to ex-plore the impact of events on only asmall number of those affected.”

The study found that only 6 percentof the stories touched on the impact ofthe story on the public as a whole andthat the stories were twice as likely tobe about politics than policy. Rosenstiel

Reporters look at why

statehouse news is on

the wane.

BY WES AKERS

_______________Wes Akers is producer of Frankfort:

Northern Kentucky’s Perspective, atelevision news show on statehouse activity.

He is also a freelance writer for KentuckyMonthly Magazine and the Recorder

Community Newspapers Network. Akers isan adjunct professor at Northern Kentucky

University in television production.

Wes Akers


said reporters get involved in interestgroup debates and are writing to thestatehouse politicians and not to thepeople. “How much are we writing thisfrom the point of view of the citizens?”

The human side

Barbara Walsh, a panelist at the con-ference from the Portland Press Herald,told the reporters in attendance, “Getaway from politics and infighting andget into the homes. Do stories withhuman faces.”

Walsh said more people will readstories about state government if theytell people how they are affected bygovernment and include their point ofview in a narrative style. “Make yourstories like a scene from a play, or thechapter in a book,” she said.

Chuck Clark, metro-editor for TheCourier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., sug-gested spending a couple of hours talk-ing to the people involved in an issue.“Tell the story through the people wholive it.”

The study reported that most storiesabout state government are written asstraight news accounts in the tradi-tional “who, what, when, where, whyand how style.”

Paul O’Connor, a columnist for theCapital Press Association in NorthCarolina, said that’s the only way hewould write. O’Connor says he shouldn’thave to read 10 lines into a story tofind the news. O’Connor says if heleaves the statehouse during session tointerview residents about one issue, hewould be leaving uncovered 170 otherissues being debated. “Then you’re notdoing a service to your readers. I’mreally concerned that a lot of goodnewspapers are buying into thistrend.”

Richard Perez-Pena, statehouse re-porter for The New York Times, says hedoesn’t have time to write human in-terest stories about state government.He says if he had to interview typicalNew Yorkers about something beingdebated in Albany, then he would haveto take an entire day off from the capi-

tal to travel 150 miles to New York City.“Back when I was a reporter coveringthe transportation beat, all I had to dowas jump on the subway,” Pena said.

Margaret Wimborne, city editor forthe Post Register of Idaho Falls, saidnewspapers should do human interestfeatures about state government issuesduring the interim to educate readers.Then inform readers of proceedingsduring the session with a straight newswriting style. “People are interested inthis stuff. We just have to find a wayto present it to them to get them

involved.”O’Connor said statehouse reporters

should not have to worry about think-ing of creative ways to persuade peopleto read the articles. O’Connor saidmore people will read stories aboutstate government if they are given theprominent placement that they de-serve.

“What legislators do is so damnedimportant to what we do as people. Ifmore people are going to read thesestories, editors have to make coveringstatehouse reporting front page.”

Promoting state newsPart of CSG’s mission is to promote the role of states and state decision-

makers in the American governance system. CSG strives to help increase thenews coverage of state government issues. Here are quick tips to help CSGmembers broaden media awareness of state government and its activity.

• Always provide the story and the “who, what, when, where and why.”Take action, especially with weekly newspapers and local radio stations

— call them with news. Provide weekly, nonpartisan issue and activity ar-ticles to local newspapers. Radio stations broadcast up to 24-hours a day andalways are interested in news. Call and offer taped comments on the state-house activity of the week.

• Make state news interesting.News is a business that needs ratings. Provide articles, comments or press

releases that are interesting. Add interest by including a “human face” — aperson affected by the story who is willing to be interviewed. Or, relate sta-tistics that show the impact of the issue on specific groups of people.

• Meet with editors on the importance of statehouse news.Editors often make key decisions, such as whether to assign reporters to a

story or where to place a news article. CSG members should meet with theirlocal editors. Also, consider bipartisan meetings with editors of key mediaoutlets across your state — perhaps during the interim. Stress the impor-tance of covering state news since it affects the everyday life of every person.Gubernatorial or legislative information officers may consider hosting edi-tors at the capitol during the session for one day.

• Feel free to refer reporters or editors to CSG.Whenever possible, CSG is happy to assist reporters in gathering back-

ground information or quotes for state government news stories. CSG is thenation’s only association serving all elected and appointed officials in allthree branches of government. Call CSG Public Relations at (606) 244-8111.

_______________Compiled by CSG Public Relations Manager Julia Nienaber. Nienaber is a former

television news executive producer and radio news director. She directed press relationsfor a legislative caucus for four years.


electionselections

Breakingvoting

barriers

hen residents ofIowa countiesWoodbury and

Johnson went to the polls inNovember, they weren’tonly deciding who would win theirlocal municipal races.

The voters also were helpingdetermine if and how theInternet will be used infuture state elec-tions. Ina pilotpro-gramconducted by the Iowa secretaryof state’s office, an Internet votingbooth was set up next to tradi-tional voting booths.

The nonbinding online votewas “designed to test the viability ofthe system and the willingness ofvoters to participate through the Inter-net,” Secretary of State Chet Culversays.

The Iowa project is one of severalalternative voting methods being stud-ied or implemented by states across thecountry. In Oregon, for example, votersno longer head to the polls on ElectionDay. They cast their ballots at homeand send them in through the mail.

Ohio may soon be taking the firststep to an all-mail system with a no-fault absentee-ballot initiative that hasbeen introduced by Republican Sen.Eugene Watts and Democratic Rep.Vernon Sykes.

The states’ methods are different,but the goals of the various plans arethe same: Make voting more conve-nient for residents and improve whatmany consider alarmingly low voter-turnout numbers across the country.

Results in Iowa

Iowa’s pilot program worked with apool of 3,256 registered voters who

went to the polls duringlast November’s elec-tions. Of those voters inthe two counties’ eight

precincts, 39 percent ofthem agreed to parti-cipate in the Inter-net vote.

Bob Galbraith,who analyzed re-sults of the Iowaproject, says hisfindings are en-

couraging, with83 percent of the

study participantssaying they would

be willing to vote byInternet in future elec-

tions either at home orthe office.

“If people were going to do the test,you would think a fairly high percent-age would say, ‘Yes, I will do this forreal,’ ” says Galbraith, deputy secretaryof state for elections and voter regis-tration. “But I didn’t expect it to be 80or 90 percent, particularly in the ruralprecinct I was in with so many elderlypeople.

“A number of folks who probablynever had touched a mouse beforewere willing to sit down and try it. Ofthose folks who tried it, most of themthought it was a neat idea.”

But while pleasantly surprised bythe reaction of the state’s older resi-dents, the secretary of state’s office saysInternet voting is geared more to im-proving turnout among Iowa’s young-est voters.

Only 15 percent of the people be-tween the ages of 18 and 24 vote, andGalbraith says part of the reason maybe the unfamiliarity and the unease ofgoing to a voting booth for the firsttime.

“I think it is a little more intimidat-ing to them than it would be to walk

States are considering

making it easier for

people to vote by using

the Internet and the

mails.

BY TIM ANDERSON

_______________Tim Anderson is publications manager for

the Midwestern office of The Council ofState Governments.


over to a computer where they spenda lot of time and have a higher com-fort level,” Galbraith says.

The secretary of state’s office willcontinue to examine the results beforedeciding the feasibility of online vot-ing in Iowa. When it comes to imple-menting Internet voting “for real,”Galbraith says, he expects a Westernstate to take the lead, much like Ore-gon has done with voting by mail.

“I think the populous out there maybe more willing to test the technologysooner than the Iowa population, butthe secretary of state is convinced therewill be real Internet voting in the stateswithin the next 10 years,” Galbraithsays.

No reasons required

No-fault absentee voting — whichmeans any registered voter can requestto vote by mail without a reason — isalready in place in four Midwesternstates: Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota

and Kansas.Pending leg-

islation in Ohiowould add afifth state tothat list. Watts,who is propos-ing in the Sen-ate the no-faultabsentee bal-lots bill alongwith Secretaryof State J. Ken-neth Blackwell,

says the initiative would make votingmore accessible and easier.

“For many Ohioans who are deal-ing with the day-to-day chores of home,children and work, getting to the bal-lot box can be quite difficult,” says theRepublican from Dublin, Ohio. “I amconfident that by opening this process,more Ohioans will participate in ourelectoral process.”

Is this the first step to elections inOhio that are done exclusively by mail,like they are done now in Oregon?

Sykes, who is carrying the legislationin the Ohio House, says it is far tooearly to tell.

“I’m not trying to do anything dras-tic,” the Akron Democrat says. “We’regoing to hope-fully start byexpanding asystem thatwe’re alreadyusing, and thatis absentee bal-loting.

“My pur-pose is to pro-vide anothermethod of ac-cessing the bal-lot box. Intoday’s climate of advancements intechnology, we can bank 24-7 withATM machines, we’ve got phones inour pockets. I just figure it’s time forus to do something a little innovativewhen it comes to voting.”

Lynne Martinez, a Democrat whorepresents Lansing in the MichiganHouse, says she has unsuccessfullypushed for no-fault absentee ballotsand pilot voting-by-mail programs inher state.

Martinez says allowing more peopleto vote by mail would not only increasevoter participation, it also could leadto a more-informed electorate.

“People would have the chance togo over the ballots in the privacy oftheir own homes and make sure theywere familiar with the issues and can-didates, and then decide who to votefor,” Martinez says.

Stumbling blocks

Internet voting, no-fault absenteeballots and the all-mail system all facesimilar impediments. First and fore-most is the concern over voter fraud.Oregon has been sued over its all-mailsystem by the Voting Integrity Project,which claims the system does not pro-vide enough safeguards against fraudand violates an 1872 federal law re-

CSG resourcesMore innovative state elections

practices can be found on theWorld Wide Web site of TheCouncil of State Governments,www.csg.org. Connect to the CSGWashington, D.C., office homepage and follow the appropriatelinks. There is a compendium ofelection innovations available freeof charge for publication and rep-lication on the “Elections Web”Web site.

quiring that elections be set for a cer-tain day.

The nonprofit group says extendingvoting timeframes and moving the pro-cess away from elections officials are“an invitation to fraud.”

Another issue is political fairness.Would an increase in voting by mailhelp one party at the expense of an-other? Martinez believes her initiativeshave been derailed due to Republicanconcerns that they would create alarger turnout of Democratic voters.

In Ohio, though, the legislation forno-fault absentee ballots is beingpushed by both Republican and Demo-cratic officials.

The Ohio secretary of state’s officerejects the idea of any kind of partisanadvantage, saying in a report on thesubject that political parties already areusing “sophisticated voter outreachtools to encourage absentee balloting.”As for concerns over fraud, the secre-tary of state’s office cites statisticsshowing an increase in Ohio absenteeballots of 135 percent between 1995and 1996 with no corresponding risein complaints of fraud.

If it moves forward, online votingwill have to pass similar tests relatedto voter fraud, Galbraith says. In addi-tion, questions will be raised aboutwhether voters without access to acomputer would be disenfranchisedunder a system that relies more heavilyon the Internet, he adds.

Ohio Rep. VernonSykes

Iowa Secretary ofState Chet Culver

States need to nourish exports,Kempthorne said. He recently led trademissions to Asia and Latin Americawith representatives from business, ag-riculture, education andgovernment. He urgedstate officials to go over-seas as opposed to expect-ing foreign delegations tocome to the United States.

“There is no substitutefor meeting your foreignpartners face-to-face,”Kempthorne said. Suchdelegations also provideopportunities to promotestate research and develop-ment achievements in othercountries.

The governor calledCSG’s State Environmen-tal Initiative, sponsored byUS-AEP, an excellent ex-ample of federalism at itsbest — bringing state andfederal governments together to createand maintain programs that bring notonly environmental benefits to Asianpartners, but economic benefits tostates as well.

Numerous benefits

A state official who has seen theeconomic and other benefits of envi-ronmental trade is Louisiana Rep.Melvin “Kip” Holden. As an AdvisoryCommittee member for CSG’s StateEnvironmental Initiative, Holden trav-eled to Asia in 1999. Holden said theSEI partnerships are about more thanimproving the environment. They pro-mote open societies, sustainability andinternational relationships.

He said, “States are involved in allthe drivers of change: environmentalpolicy and technical assistance, insti-tutional capacity-building, finance andinvestment, public education, trade anduniversity research and development.

“The State Environmental Initiative

CSG resourcesSince 1994, the CSG/US-AEP

State Environmental Initiativeprogram has awarded $3.8 millionin competitive grants to states,which has resulted in more than$5 million in U.S. sales to Asiancountries. Each year, CSG awardsgrants to states and their partnersthrough a competitive process.(See articles in June/July 1999State Government News.)

For more information, contactKaren Marshall, SEI programmanager, (606) 244-8234, CSG, P.O.Box 1910, Lexington, KY 40578-1910, Email: [email protected],or visit www.sei-asia.org.

is demonstrating that states are newagents of change in developmentpartnerships.”

An example of how states are pro-moting change was related by Matt

Morrison, executive director for thePacificNorthwest Economic Region.Morrison spoke about his experienceas project director for the SEI-spon-sored PNWER-Clean Washington Cen-ter Waste Utilization and ResourceRecovery project in the Philippines.

The CWC has signed a memoran-dum of understanding with the Phil-ippines League of Cities to establish aClean Cities Center. The center willtrain member cities to analyze indus-try operations with a goal of reducingresource use and waste generation ina profitable manner. The center willpromote recycling and source separa-tion of wastes. It also will develop newlocal industries to turn recycled wastesinto new, commercially successfulproducts.

The project also is pursuing an in-dustrial extension service for LagunaTechnopark, the largest industrial es-tate in the Philippines, which employsnearly 40,000 people. Industries wouldpay the center for professional engi-

Matt Morrison, executive director, Pacific NorthWest EconomicRegion (center left), meets with Mayor Edward Hagedorn, secretarygeneral of the Philippines League of Cities (center right), and others.

neering and management services toreduce their waste streams and/oridentify markets and product lines forthe remaining wastes. The idea is thatcompanies would experience cost-sav-

ings and profits equal tothe extension service’sfees.

Commenting on theturmoil surrounding theWTO, Bob Randolph,USAID assistant adminis-trator for Asia and theNear East, said those trulyinterested in environment-friendly technology pro-cesses have a way, besidesin the streets, to pursue it.

While the Seattle pro-tests focused attention onthe WTO, it is not easy toget the word out about thegood work states are doingthrough the partnership. Asour plane prepared forlanding, I offered to send

my new acquaintance more informa-tion about the program. She was re-ceptive and even invited me to visit ather farm next summer. If only the en-counters in Seattle could have been soproductive!




New federal rules on the allo-cation of donated organs re-main up in the air two years

after Donna Shalala, secretary of theU.S. Department of Health and Hu-man Services, unveiled them in March1998. Soon after the rules were firstproposed, a fight broke out amongstates and transplant centers aroundthe United States over whether the oldsystem or the new proposed rules werebetter. States, including Oklahoma,Louisiana, Wisconsin and Ohio,passed laws or resolutions favoring theold system. Louisiana went so far asto file a suit in federal court objectingto the new rules.

At issue is how to allocate scarceorgans to more than 64,000 people onthe national transplant waiting list.Currently, a private, nonprofit organi-zation, the United Network for OrganSharing, administers the nationaltransplantation network. It divides thenation into 11 regions. The sickestpatients within a region receive firstpriority for a donated organ, eventhough there may be medically needierpatients in other regions.

This system resulted in the sickestpatients generally having comparablewaiting times across the country, butgreat disparities in waiting times result-ed for patients who had a less urgentneed for an organ. In some areas in theMidwest the waiting time would aver-age only a few months, while in theEast patients might wait years for atransplant.

The new federal rules would signifi-cantly restructure the system for allo-cating organs. The new rules seek toensure that the sickest patients regard-less of their location receive organs andto smooth out inequities in the waitingtime for transplants. The new rules callon the United Network for Organ Shar-ing to develop uniform medical crite-ria for ranking transplant candidates.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services hasamended the rules, but congressionalleaders and President Clinton weighedin on the issue, postponing the rules’implementation for 90 days untilMarch 16.

One long-term solution to this dis-pute is to increase the number of or-gan donations. In 1998, fewer than10,000 people donated organs, andmore than 4,000 people died awaitingan organ transplant, according to theU.S. Health Resources and ServicesAdministration. Thousands of deathscould be averted if there were moreorgan donors. States are beginning toexperiment with ways to do just that.

Most states already allow drivers toindicate their desire to donate organson their drivers’ licenses. Thirteenstates have gone a step further and cre-ated donor registries. Registries inFlorida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland,Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio,Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia andWest Virginia are up and running.New York begins its registry in April.Wisconsin and South Carolina are be-ginning the process.

People who indicate their desire todonate an organ are entered into a state-wide computer database. Doctors andhospitals then have access to donation

States fight over rights to organs

_______________Trudi Matthews is a health policy analyst,

CSG’s Center for Leadership, Innovationand Policy.

BY TRUDI MATTHEWS

information. This is important becausemany times donors do not inform theirfamilies about their donor status anddrivers’ licenses are not always avail-able at the time of a person’s death.

Illinois has shown that getting theword out can increase donations. It hasput $1 million a year into ads that pro-mote organ donation. And, the invest-ment has paid off — Illinois has moredonors in its registry than any otherstate.

Another novel approach is a Penn-sylvania law that authorizes the stateto pay $350 of funeral costs for donors.This law has yet to be implemented,and it may run into problems. A 1984federal law bars the exchange of any“valuable consideration” for organs.

The Council of State Governmentsis doing its part. In partnership withthe Health Resources and Services Ad-ministration, the federal agency thatoversees transplant policy, and the Na-tional Conference of State Legislatures,CSG is developing a resource guide forstate officials that discusses model leg-islation, best practices, potential bar-riers and recommended strategies toincrease organ donations. The threeorganizations have begun work on theproject and expect it to be completedby the fall of 2000.

For more information about the or-gan donation project or the resourceguide, please contact Trudi Matthews,health policy analyst, at (606) 244-8157. Matthews is a member of CSG’sCLIP, which promotes policy develop-ment, leadership training and innova-tive state programming. CLIP developsstate problem-solving initiatives withintergovernmental, philanthropic andcorporate partners.

news from csg's center for leadership, innovation & policynews from csg's center for leadership, innovation & policy


Welcoming a new member to ERChe Eastern Regional Conference welcomes the government of Newfound-land and Labrador as its newest International Associate member.

As International Associate members, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotiaand Québec have representatives on the ERC Executive Committee, participate in

policy forums held by the ERC and receive publications andother information regularly shared with members.

Inclusion of Newfoundland and Labrador in the ERC represents an importantstep forward in the historic relationship between the North-east states and the Canadian provinces. At the executive

level, provincial ministers and Northeast gover-nors have traditionally met to discuss important

issues of trade, tourism and the environment.ERC looks forward to expanding that rela-

tionship so that legislators will havethe opportunity to make contacts

and increase cooperation on a host of issues.The ERC also is developing contacts with NewBrunswick and Prince Edward Island in the hopes

that the Maritime Provinces join as InternationalAssociate members and enjoy the mutual bene-fits of regional cooperation.

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the east

The Midwestern Legislative Con-ference’s Midwest-Canada Rela-

tions Committee met Dec. 2 in QuébecCity, Québec, todiscuss how the

states and provinces can work togetheron global agricultural issues.

The committee is co-chaired by Sen.LeRoy Stumpf of Minnesota and Sen.Robert Cupp of Ohio.

Cindy Lackey, a senior policy analystwith The Council of State Governments,briefed committee members on CSG’songoing project examining issues such

Midwest-Canada relations reviewed

the midwest

T as water quality,food safety andi n t e r n a t i o n a ltrade.

Two membersof the Canadian parliament, Joe McGuireand Jake Hoeppner, addressed the com-mittee as part of a discussion on federalagriculture policy in the United Statesand Canada.

For information on the Midwest-Canada Relations Committee, call IleneGrossman in the CSG Midwestern officeat (630) 810-0210.

he deadline to apply for the Mid-western Legislative Conference’s

6th Annual Bowhay Institute for Legis-lative LeadershipDevelopment is

April 3.The program helps new legislators in

the Midwest develop the skills theyneed to become effective leaders instate government. The MLC, in coopera-tion with the University of Wisconsin’sLa Follette Institute of Public Affairs,produces BILLD. This year’s programwill be held July 7-11 in Madison, Wis.

Each year, a class of 33 BILLD Fellowsis selected through a competitive appli-cation process administered by theMLC’s BILLD Steering Committee. Forinformation on BILLD or to request anapplication, call Laura Tomaka in the CSGMidwestern office at (630) 810-0210.

Future leaderswanted in Midwest

the midwest

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outhern Legislative Conference staff will visit state capitols in Alabama, Ken-tucky, Mississippi and Missouri in an effort to provide information to legisla-

tors and staff and better familiarize the staff with SLC members. Staff visited Geor-gia, Maryland and West Virginia in February. The two-day vis-its provide an opportunity for legislators to learn more about

the services and functions of the SLC and The Council of State Governments, andto check out many of the publications and materials produced by both. The statevisit calendar is as follows: Kentucky, March 8-9; Mississippi, March 21-22; Mis-souri, April 5-6; Alabama, April 18-19; and Louisiana, dates to be determined.

SLC staff visits states

the south

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he National Emergency Manage-ment Association, a CSG affiliate,

recently formed a task force on the issueof school safety. According to NEMA,tragedies such as the Columbine schoolshootings show a need for measures

that address se-curity and emer-

gency planning in schools.School violence, many state emer-

gency managers agree, is more than aneducation problem — it is a public safetyissue with its own special challenges.Schools also must deal with natural di-sasters and other kinds of emergencies.

Emergency managers throughoutthe country are offering their agenciesas a resource for school officials. TheNEMA school safety task force currentlyincludes representatives from Arizona,Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Or-egon, Maryland, Utah, Vermont and theDistrict of Columbia. For more informa-tion, call Rich Dieffenbach, NEMA policyanalyst, at (606) 244-8112.

Safety help offeredto schools

nema

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he CSG Southern office has published the Winter 2000 edition of SouthScans,a periodical publication that compares Southern states across a range of

economic and programmatic criteria. These state-specific snapshot details are ex-tracted from the Southern Legislative Conference Compara-tive Data Report series, which are prepared each year by fis-

cal staff members in Southern state legislatures.The current edition of SouthScans provides a brief analysis of specific Medicaid

and state revenue criteria from the 16 states in the SLC and is mailed to all statelegislators. SouthScans are available for Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ken-

tucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, NorthCarolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vir-ginia and West Virginia.

The latest Regional Resource from the Southern office,“The U.S.-China Trade Agreement and its Implications forthe Southern Legislative Conference States,” reviews therecently concluded trade agreement. The publication pre-sents the major points of the agreement, the U.S.-Chinatrade relationship, SLC states and trade with China and re-ports from selected SLC states on the agreement. The pub-lication notes the tremendous opportunities available toSLC state businesses to augment the current $2.3 billion in

trade between the region and China as a result of greater access to theChinese market under the agreement.

A recent issue of the Regional Resource from both theHuman Services and Public Safety and IntergovernmentalAffairs committees addresses the proposed Interstate Com-pact for Adult Offender Supervision. This publication out-lines the work of a myriad of criminal justice groups in iden-tifying deficiencies in the current compact, and proposals formore effectively managing the supervision of probationersand parolees residing in states other than where they weresentenced. That work culminated with the drafting of a re-vised compact, which will be introduced for states’ adop-tion this year, and which is outlined in the report.

Other Regional Resources available from the Southern office:• Legislative Party Distribution in the Southern States: 1996-2000 — After decades

of Democratic domination, a two-party system emerged in much of the South atthe end of the century. Republicans made tremendous gains in the first half of the1990s, but since then, the GOP advance has been somewhat stymied. This RegionalResource examines the current partisan makeup of Southern state legislatures.

• Legislative Page and Intern Programs in the Southern States — Each of the 16states in the Southern Legislative Conference offers at least one program for legis-lative pages or interns, young people who serve in support of their elected offi-cials, usually during state legislative sessions. In addition to providing legislatorsservices ranging from running errands to bill analysis, legislative pages and internsgain valuable experience and a greater understanding of the law-making process.

• Issue Update: Agriculture and Biotech — Science has changed the face of agri-culture, with new, genetically modified crops becoming major parts of the U.S.agricultural economy. This new technology is not without its critics, however, andcontroversies at home and abroad have altered the future of these crops. As newtransgenic foods become approved, major changes can be expected in the wayfood is grown, marketed, handled and possibly even sold to consumers. This Re-gional Resource reviews the history of this technology, the current controversyover the crops and the outlook for the future.

For more information on the publications of CSG’s Southern office, call the SLCat (404) 266-1271.

Southern reports published

the south

Tccess to the West’s public landsand other land management

issues were discussed at a forum co-convened by the Center for the New

West and CSG-WEST in Denver

Feb. 4-5. The Center for the New Westis a Denver-based think tank that stud-ies the effect of the new economy onthe economics and culture of the West.U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, a mem-ber of the center’s Board of Trustees,was the keynote speaker.

The forum examined the competingapproaches to public land managementin the West. With 46 percent of the re-gion publicly owned, the actions of theBureau of Land Management, the ForestService and the National Park Servicehave a profound effect on the econom-ics of Western states. The central ques-tion of how these decisions get madeand by whom was discussed from anenvironmental, political and economicperspective.

There was an inventory and discus-sion of the number of grassroots coali-tions that have emerged in Westernstates to resolve conflicts at the locallevel. A consensus was reached amongthe forum participants that these range-land and watershed coalitions are thelast best hope for resolving disputesamong affected parties and deserve thesupport of federal land managers andstate governments.

For more information on the Forumon Public Lands or the Center for theNew West, contact CSG-WEST at (415)974-6422.

Westerners discusspublic lands

the west

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Visit CSG onStatesNewswww.csg.org

Visit CSG onStatesNewswww.csg.org

he National Association of StatePersonnel Executives is honored

to present the Eugene H. Rooney Jr.Awards. Rooneywas a past presi-

dent of NASPE from Massachusetts.These awards recognize innovative statehuman resource management practicesthat ensure access and equity whileenhancing productivity and service de-livery. The awards also recognize peoplewho exemplify the character, qualitiesand influence that Rooney brought to

Personnel practices recognized

naspe

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tatesNews, CSG’s Web site, has added a “Press Releases” page. Visit it forthe latest news on leadership, awards, programs and other activities at CSG

headquarters. A link to “Press Releases” is below the “What’s New” icon in theright-hand column on the CSG home page, www.csg.org.

Look for these new materials in the Center for Leadership, Innovation and Policy’ssection of the Web site. Under “Environmental Policy” are the State Environmental

Initiative’s 2000 call for proposals and research papers fromthe State Environmental Management System Research Sum-

mit. On the “State Trends Group” page, the latest issue of State Trends magazine isavailable. And the Interstate Compact forthe Supervision of Adult Offenders (under“Corrections and Public Safety Group”)will soon feature tracking of legislation asit is introduced in the states.

The new Southern Legislative Conference Web site address is www.slcatlanta.orgor access the site via CSG’s home page. Visit SLC online to get an update on activi-ties in the Southern region, information on upcoming meetings and available pub-lications and reports. Online registration for the upcoming SLC Annual Meeting inBiloxi, Miss., is available.

Coming soon: the new Midwestern Legislative Conference Web site, which alsowill be accessible via CSG’s home page.

New on the Web

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state personnel administration.The Awards for Innovative State

Human Resource Management andLeadership in State Human ResourceManagement will be presented atNASPE’s 23rd Annual Meeting, July 29-Aug. 2, in Princeton, N.J. An award ofmerit will be presented to one otherprogram. The deadline for submissionsis April 7. Contact Lisa Anderson, NASPEprogram associate, (606) 244-8179 formore information or log onto NASPE’sWeb site at www.naspe.net.

SG will host its national SpringCommittee and Task Force Meet-

ings April 27-30 in Napa Valley, Calif.The Napa Valley Marriott will be the

main hotel andconvention site.

An estimated 400 state legislators,policy-makers and corporate leaders areexpected to attend the Napa confer-ence, making this one of CSG’s largest-ever spring meetings.

Conferees will discuss issues such ase-commerce, work-force development,environmental management, healthcare, corrections and public safety, andinternational relations. Several commit-tees, including Suggested State Legisla-tion, Strategic Planning, Finance, AnnualMeeting and Executive Committee, willconvene during the three-day conference.

CSG-WEST and the National HispanicCaucus of State Legislators will hold anumber of committee and task forcesessions in conjunction with the Napameeting. CSG-WEST’s Aging Committeeand Natural Resources Committee willmeet April 28, and the CSG-WEST Ex-ecutive Committee and Committee onthe Future of Western Legislators willmeet April 29. The National HispanicCaucus of State Legislators will holdmeetings April 28-29.

Reservations for the Napa ValleyMarriott can be made by calling (707)253-7433, ext. 1305. Special air faresfor the Napa meeting can be obtainedthrough your travel agent or Delta Air-lines at (800) 241-6760 and refer to file# DMN 135121A. For additional infor-mation about the spring meeting, callKathy Shanklin at (606) 244-8106.

Spring CSGmeeting set

leadership

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Western water quality advancedhrough a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency’s Office of Research and Development, CSG headquarters and CSG-

WEST co-hosted a meeting of Western water quality managers Feb. 1-4. State andtribal participants met in Las Vegas for a workshop on improving ways to measure

water quality and to discuss the specifics of a Western regionenvironmental assessment. Monitoring for the Western re-

gion study known as EMAP-West (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Pro-gram) is scheduled to begin this spring.

The four-day workshop let state and tribal professionals exchange informationand make new, or strengthen former, professional contacts within the Westernstates. For more information, contact Malissa McAlister, policy analyst with CSG’s Cen-ter for Leadership, Innovation and Policy, at [email protected] or (606) 244-8243.

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statesnews


This calendar lists the annualmeeting dates of associations servingstate officials. For more information,call the number listed. “CSG/” de-notes organizations affiliated withCSG.

Direct new entries or correctionsby the first of the month to:

Amy LindonThe Conference CalendarCSGP.O. Box 11910Lexington, KY [email protected] CSG’s Web site, www.csg.org

or www.StatesNews.org, to see up-dated information and links to otherorganizations and host cities.

MARCH 2000March 24-27 — Friday-MondayCollege Savings Plan NetworkManagement Training Institute(NAST) — Miami Beach, FL —Wyndham Miami Beach (Hamilton,Lexington) (606) 244-8174, [email protected]

APRIL 2000April 26-30 — Wednesday-SundayCSG Spring National Committeeand Task Force Meetings — NapaValley, CA — Napa Valley Marriott(Hines, Lexington) (606) 244-8103,[email protected]

MAY 2000May 6-10 — Saturday-WednesdayCSG/National Association of StateTelecommunications Directors(NASTD) Eastern Region Meet-ing — Mystic, CT — Hilton MysticHotel (Britton, Lexington) (606)244-8187, [email protected] 7-10 — Sunday-WednesdayCSG/National Association of StateTreasurers (NAST) SouthernState Treasurers Conference —Point Clear, AL — Grand HotelMarriott (Hamilton, Lexington)(606) 244-8174

JUNE 2000June 8-10 — Thursday-SaturdayCSG/University of Kentucky –Summit of the States on ConflictManagement and Dispute Reso-lution— Lexington, KY —Marriott’s Griffin Gate Resort -(Harberson, Lexington) (606) 244-8228, [email protected] 17-21 — Saturday-WednesdayCSG/National Association of StateTreasurers (NAST) WesternState Treasurers Conference—Juneau, AK — Westmark BarnofHotel (Hamilton, Lexington) (606)244-8174June 24-28 — Saturday-WednesdayCSG/National Association ofState Facilities Administrators

(NASFA) Annual Conferenceand Trade Show — Burlington,VT — Radisson Hotel (Stone, Lex-ington) (606) 244-8181, [email protected]

JULY 2000July 7-11 — Friday-TuesdayCSG/Bowhay Institude for Leg-islative Leadership (BILLD) —Madison, WI — Fluno Center(Tomaka, Lombard/ IL) (630) 810-0210July 7-11 — Friday-TuesdayCSG/National Association of StateTelecommunications Directors(NASTD) Western Region Meet-ing — Whitefish, MT — GrouseMountain Lodge — (Britton, Lexing-ton) (606) 244-8187, [email protected] 8-11 — Saturday-TuesdayNational Governors Association(NGA) Annual Conference —State College, PA — Hotel to be an-nounced (Susan Dotchin) (202)624-5300July 16-20 — Sunday-ThursdayNational Conference of StateLegislatures (NCSL) AnnualMeeting — Chicago, IL — SheratonChicago (303) 830-2200, [email protected] 19-23 — Wednesday-SundayCSG/National Conference ofLieutenant Governors (NCLG)Annual Meeting — Dorado, PR —Dorado Hyatt — (Manning, Lexing-ton) (606) 244-8171, [email protected] 22-27 — Saturday-ThursdayCSG/Parliamentary Conferenceof the Americas Second GeneralAssembly — Rio Grande, PuertoRico — Westin Rio Mar Beach Hotel(O’Malley, DC) (202) 624-5460July 22-27 — Saturday-ThursdayCSG/National Association ofGovernmental Labor Officials(NAGLO) Summer Conference— Atlanta, GA — Ritz-Carlton(Scott, DC) (202) 624-5460July 23-26 — Sunday-WednesdayCSG/American Probation andParole Association (APPA) 25th

Annual Training Institute —Phoenix, AZ — Downtown Hyatt(Swinford, Lexington) (606) 244-8194July 25-30 — Tuesday-SundayAmerican Legislative ExchangeCouncil (ALEC) Annual Meet-ing — San Diego, CA— Hotel to beannounced (Dougherty) (202) 466-3800, [email protected] 29-August 2 —Saturday-WednesdayCSG/National Association ofState Personnel Executives(NASPE) Annual Meeting —Princeton, NJ — Marriott at Forres-

tal Village — (Leslie Scott, Lexing-ton) (606) 244-8182

AUGUST 2000August 3-5 — Thursday-SaturdayCSG/National Association of StateTreasurers (NAST) College Sav-ings Plan Network & State DebtManagement 10th Annual Con-ference — Chicago, IL — WestinHotel (Hamilton, Lexington) (606)244-8174August 4-7 — Friday-MondayCSG/Eastern Regional Confer-ence (ERC) Annual Meeting —Providence, RI — Westin Provi-dence Hotel (Stanley, New York)(212) 912-0128August 5-9 — Saturday-WednesdayCSG/Southern Legislative Con-ference (SLC) Annual Meeting— Biloxi, MS — Hotel to be an-nounced (Cousineau, Atlanta)(404) 266-1271August 6-9 — Sunday-WednesdayCSG/Midwestern LegislativeConference (MLC) 55th AnnualMeeting — Minneapolis, MN —Marriott Hotel — (McCabe, Lom-bard) (630) 810-0210August 6-9 — Sunday-WednesdayCSG/National Association of StateTreasurers (NAST) 25th AnnualConference — Chicago, IL —Westin Hotel (Hamilton, Lexing-ton) (606) 244-8174August 19-25 — Saturday-FridayCSG/National Emergency Man-agement Association (NEMA)2000 Annual Conference — PalmBeach, FL — The Breakers (Hens-ley, Lexington) (606) 244-8162,[email protected] 26-31 — Saturday-ThursdayCSG/National Association of StateTelecommunications Directors(NASTD) 23rd Annual Confer-ence — Boston, MA —SeaportHotel and World Trade Center(Britton, Lexington) (606) 244-8187, [email protected]

SEPTEMBER 2000September 1-3 — Friday-SundayCSG/National Association of StateElection Directors (NASED)—San Fransico, CA — Hotel to beannounced (Scott, DC) (202) 624-5460September 14-16 —Thursday-SaturdayCSG/Council on Licensure, En-forcement and Regulation(CLEAR) Annual Conference —Miami, FL — Wyndham HotelBiscayne Bay (Maria Turner) (606)269-1802September 23-26 —Saturday-TuesdayCSG/National Association of StateTreasurers (NAST) NortheastState Treasurers Conference —

Charleston, WV — Embassy Suites(Hamilton, Lexington) (606) 244-8174September 24-26 — Sunday-TuesdaySouthern Governors’ Association(SGA) Annual Meeting — LittleRock, AR — Excelsior Hotel — (Pur-dy, DC) (202) 624-5897, [email protected] 30-October 5 —Saturday-TuesdayCSG Henry Toll Fellowship Pro-gram — Lexington, KY — HiltonSuites (Powell, Lexington) (606)244-8249, [email protected]

NOVEMBER 2000November 1-3 — Wednesday-FridayCSG/Northeast Recycling Coun-cil (NERC) Fall Meeting —Northeast NJ — Hotel to be an-nounced (Rebecca Bartlett) (802)254-3636, [email protected] 15-18 —Wednesday-SaturdayCSG/CSG-West Annual Meeting— San Diego, CA — Hyatt Islandia(Duvauchelle, San Francisco) (415)974-6422

DECEMBER 2000December 3-5 — Sunday-TuesdayInterstate Oil and Gas CompactCommission Annual Meeting—San Antonio, TX — Omni SanAntonio (Keller) (404) 525-3556ext. 113December 6-10 —Wednesday-SundayCSG 2000 Annual Meeting andState Leadership Forum — Dear-born, MI — Dearborn Hyatt Re-gency (Hines, Lexington) (606)244-8103, [email protected]

JUNE 2001June 27- July 1 —Wednesday-SundayCSG/National Conference ofLieutenant Governors (NCLG)Annual Meeting — Louisville, KY— The Seelbach — (Manning, Lex-ington) (606) 244-8171, [email protected]

JULY 2001July 14-18 — Saturday-WednesdayCSG/Southern Legislative Con-ference (SLC) Annual Meeting— Savannah, GA — Hotel to beannounced (Cousineau, Atlanta)(404) 266-1271, [email protected]

July 29-August 1 —Sunday-WednesdayCSG/Midwestern LegislativeConference (MLC) 56th AnnualMeeting — Lincoln, NE — TheCornhusker (McCabe, Lombard)(630) 810-0210


Keon S. Chi is a senior fellow in CSG’s Center for Leadership, Innovation and Policy.Keon S. Chi is a senior fellow in CSG’s Center for Leadership, Innovation and Policy.

Ready for e-commerce?BY KEON S. CHI

ost states rely heavily on sales/user taxes, whichprovide more than one-third of all state revenues.The 45 states with such taxes collected morethan $150 billion in 1998. Sales tax revenues

largely finance K-12 education.Currently, 34 of the 45 states with state sales/user taxes

allow local governments to levy additionalsales taxes to provide public services suchas police and fire protection, transportationand health services.

State and local reliance on sales and usetaxes faces an uncertain future, however.First, the sales tax base has shrunk steadilyover the past three decades mainly due to ashift from taxable goods to services. In the1950s, sales and gross receipts accountedfor nearly 60 percent of state governmentrevenues. The percentage decreased to 48percent in recent years. In addition, mail-order outlets need not collect sales taxesfrom out-of-state customers, thanks to U.S.Supreme Court cases, such as National BellasHess (1967) and Quill (1992).

Now, the federal moratorium on taxingelectronic commerce is threatening the future viability ofthe sales tax. Currently, revenue losses from not enforc-ing e-commerce taxation are relatively small. But moststates are likely to lose millions or billions of dollars ifthey cannot collect taxes from rapidly growing e-com-merce.

Thus, the issue is, can state and local governments af-ford to provide vital public services without raising moretax revenues from sources such as income and propertytaxes?

Mail order and e-commerce sellers complain about thecomplexity of complying with numerous state and localsales tax rates and rules. There are more than 7,000 salestax jurisdictions with differing tax rates and inconsistentrequirements across the states. The question is how canstate and local governments achieve uniformity in theirsales tax administration?

The National Tax Association, in a recent report, Com-munications and Electronic Commerce Tax Project, offersseveral solutions to the complexity and inconsistency ofstate and local sales and use tax laws. These solutionsinclude each state having a single tax rate, uniform taxremittance and audit requirement forms, uniform exemp-tions for business purchases, and uniform definitions of

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E-commercerequires a new look

at sales and usetaxes.

products and services. Several states are considering uni-form sales tax structures on an intrastate and regionalbasis.

The NTA report cautions state policy-makers and taxadministrators in implementing uniform taxes to pay at-tention to the potential revenue impact on local govern-

ments, small companies that cannot affordto comply with multiple tax jurisdictions,threshold requirements and sourcing (theultimate destination of tangible products).

Related to tax complexity is the difficultyof tax compliance. Compliance is particu-larly difficult in e-commerce, where everyseller is a multistate vendor. To reduce theburden of e-commerce taxation on remotesellers, state policy-makers might want toconsider reducing the costs of compliance,tax returns and payments and tax audits.

They might also consider simplifyingtax-rate monitoring and record-keepingrequirements.

The NTA report offers options for reach-ing tax compliance. One option is base-statetax compliance, where the vendor would

file for registration, tax returns, tax remittance and auditonly in one state. A second option is real-time tax compli-ance, where the tax would be collected and remitted tothe states in real time, using point-of-sale equipment. Athird option is simplifying the current system by adopt-ing uniform forms for vendor registration and sales anduse tax returns.

In a report, Streamlined Sales Tax System for the 21stCentury, the seven national organizations of state and localgovernments, known as the Big Seven, promote severalapproaches to e-commerce and sales tax reform. Theseinclude: The elimination of administrative burdens ofcollecting sales and use taxes, a shift of sales tax adminis-tration to “trusted third parties,” and the adoption ofuniform legislation on e-commerce taxation either on aregional or national basis.

In summary, state policy-makers should provide a mean-ingful solution to sales tax problems by adopting some orall of reform measures before Congress acts.

Editor’s note: For more information on e-commerce andsales tax reform, see Electronic Commerce: Revenue Impli-cations for States, $20, C200-9900, published by The Coun-cil of State Governments, P.O. Box 11910, Lexington, KY40578, (800) 800-1910 or visit STARS at www.csg.org.

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The Summit of the States on Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution is the first-ever comprehensive national conference designed to address the unique needs of state and territorial governments in the increasingly significant field of conflict management and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Highlights of the Summit include:

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The Summit of the States on Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution

June 8-10, 2000Marriott's Griffin Gate Resort – Lexington, KY

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